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THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

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AM 

1303-1321 


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mmBmRi 


Transactions  of  the 
American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects 

1909-1921 


Transactions   of 

The  American  Society  of 

Landscape  Architects 


909-1921 


Compiled  and  Edited  by: 

CARL  RUST  PARKER 
BREMER  W.  POND 
THEODORA  KIMBALL 

Copyright,   1922 


The  Recorder  Press 
Amsterdam,  N.  Y. 


THE  IIBRRRY 
OFIHE 


l\o.Cp 
AM 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN 

SOCIETY  OF  LANDSCAPE 

ARCHITECTS 


603493 


PREFACE 


THE  Committee  on  Editing  Transactions  has  considered  that  this  volume,  like 
the  preceding  one,  will  be  useful  chiefly  as  a  book  of  reference  to  the  events 
and  current  thought  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.,  not  only  for  its  members  but  for 
others.  Conciseness  has  therefore  been  sought  and  repetition  avoided ;  mat- 
ters that  seemed  of  merely  temporary  interest  have  been  omitted,  and  facts  placed  so 
as  to  be  easily  accessible.  Lists  of  members,  executive  and  special  committees,  and 
treasurer's  reports  have  been  tabulated  so  that  the  standing  of  members,  officers,  com- 
mittees, and  the  finances  of  any  year  can  be  quickly  found  and  compared  with  those  of 
other  years. 

Reports  of  meetings  have  been  standardized,  attention  being  paid  even  to  such 
details  as  the  order  of  statement  of  time  and  place  of  meeting,  the  omission  of  initials 
of  those  present  (which  can  be  found  in  the  membership  list)  and  of  the  chairman,  who 
is  the  highest  officer  present.  The  membership  list  has  been  brought  up  to  January, 
1922,  in  order  to  make  it  as  useful  as  possible. 

It  has  been  thought  best  to  record  the  meetings  separately,  not  only  because  they 
form  a  sequential  history  of  the  Society,  but  because  of  the  individual  and  intimate 
character  which  they  still  retain.  The  papers  included  in  this  volume  have  been  print- 
ed entire,  abbreviated  or  even  rewritten  and,  in  several  cases,  revised  by  the  authors ; 
but  it  is  believed  that  nothing  of  permanent  value  has  been  lost. 

It  has  not  always  been  easy  to  decide  what  material  should  be  rejected  and  what 
retained,  and  complete  consistency  therein  is  not  claimed.  It  is  only  to  be  expected 
that  opinions  will  differ  as  to  judgment  in  selection,  but  it  is  hoped  that  as  in  the  case 
of  the  first  volume  the  book  may  aid  in  establishing  a  standard  for  future  Transactions 
and  thus  lighten  the  labors  of  succeeding  editing  committees. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Page 

Membership    List         --------  7-9 

List  of  Chapters    ---------  9 

By-Laws           ---------  l()-n 

List  of  Officers     ---------  IS 

List  of  Standing  Committees               .-..-.  19-2'J 

Treasurer's  Statement       --------  21-24 

Minutes  of  Meetings  --------  25-54 

Official  Statement  of  Profesional   Practice         -----  55-57 

Adopted  Policies  with  Commentaries             -----  58-64 

Resolutions             ---------  65-68 

Reports  of  Chapters    --------  69-74 

War  Records  of  Fellows  and  Members  ------  75-80 

A  Statement  in  Regard  tt)  the  Establishment  of  a  F"ellowship  in  Landscape 

Architecture        ---------  si 

Prize  of  Rome  in   Landscape  Architecture.  1915      -             -             -             -  82 

American  Academy  in  Rome  Competition,  1915            -             -             -             -  83-86 

American  Academy  in  Rome  Competition.   1920      -             -             -             -  87-89 

A  Minute  on  Nathan  Franklin  liarrett               -----  90-92 

A  Minute  on  Charles  Mulford  Robinson       -----  93-99 

A  Minute  on  Charles  Pierpont  Punchard             -             -             -             -  100-103 

A  Minute  on  John  Charles  Olmsted                -----  104-108 

Report  of  Committee  on  Traveling  Exhibit       -----  109-110 

Exhibitions  of  Individual  Chapters    -             -             -             -             -             -  111 

Report  of  Joint  Committee  on  Relations  with  Trades                -             .             -  112-117 

Report  of  Committee  on  Competitions           -----  \\g 

Architectural  League  Medal         -             -             -             -             -             -             -  119 

Report  of  Committee  to  Co-operate  with  the  Comite  Neerlando-Piclge  d'Art 

Civique                 ---------  120-127 

What  is  Professional  Practice  in  Landscape  Architecture                -             -  128-136 

Collaboration  between   Landscape  Architects  and  Architects              -             -  137-143 

The  Cascade  in  Villa  Torlonia  at  Frascati  -----  144-145 

Boston  Zoological  Park                 -------  146-149 

The  Landscape  Architect  in  City   Planning              -             -             -             -  150-152 

Welfare  and  Happiness  in  Works  of  Landscape  Architecture            -             -  153-157 

Bibliographv  of  Selected  Articles  by  Members         -             -             -             -  158-161 

Selected  Articles  in  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE  Quarterly      -             -  162-165 

LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

John  Charles  Olmsted  ---.-..    Frontispiece 

The  Olmsted  Medal          --------  76 

First  Competition  American  Academy  in  Rome       -             -             -             -  80-84 

Second  Com]:)etition  American  Academy  in  Rome        -             -             -             -  gg 

Villa   Gamberaia           --------  136 

Cascade  at  Villa  Torlonia            -------  144 

Preliminary  Plan  of  Boston  Zoological  Park            ...             -  146 

Details,  Plans  and  Views  of  Boston  Zoological   Park                 ...  148 


MEMBERSHIP  LIST  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 
OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 

1909    TO     1921     INCLUSIVE 

M — Member.  H — Honorary  Member  * — Deceased 

F — Fellow  A — Associate  fResigned 

Aldrich,   Raymond  W.,   89  State  St.,   Boston,  Mass.     M  1908 

Auten,  Andrew,  Oberlin,   Ohio   M  1904 

♦Barrett,  Nathan  F.,  New  Rochelle,  New  York F  1899-1907 

Bailey.  Liberty  Hyde.  Ithaca,  New  York H  1918 

Heal.  Robert  W.,  .'iS  Summer  St.,  Boston,  Mass. M  1930 

Blair,  Erie  O.,  1101   Buena  Ave.,  Chicago M  191.5 

Blanchard,  Raymond  W.,  Abbott   Bldg.,   Cambridge,     Mass.     M  1920 

tBlaney,  Herbert  W.,  415  Maple  St.,  Springfield,   Mass.   M  1915-1931 

Brett,  Franklin,  North  Duxbury,  Mass. F  1913 

Brinckerhoff,  A.  F.,  537   Fifth  Ave.,  New  York   City    M  1903-F  191.3 

Brinley,  John   R.,   156   Fifth   Ave.,   New  York   City    F  1908 

_.  *BuIlard,   Miss   Elizabeth.   Bridgeport,   Connecticut    . F  1899-1916 

Button,  Frank,  157  East  Flagler  St.,  Miami,  Fla.   M    1913-F  1910 

Caldwell,  Lawrence  S.,  45  Bromfield  St.,  Boston,    Mass.    M  1916 

Cann,  Cliflford  N.,  89  State  St.,  Boston,  Mass. 1 M  1919 

Caparn.  Harold  A.,   18  East  41st  St.,  New  York    City    F  1905 

Chamberlain,  Noel,   137  East  43d  St.,  New  York   City   M  1907 

Child.   Stephen,   647   Tremont   Bldg.,   Boston,   Mass.    M  1910-F  1913 

Clarke.  Gilmore  D.,  7   Benedict  PI.,   Pelham,   N.  Y.   M  1915 

Coffin.  Miss  Marian   C.  830  Lexington  Ave.,  New  York  City   M  1906-F  1918 

Comey,  Arthur  C,  Abbott  Bldg.,  Cambridge,  Mass.    M  1910-F  1930 

Cook,  Wilbur  D.,  Jr..  L  W.  Hellman  Bldg.,  Los  Angeles   M  1906-F  1910 

Cooper,   Gordon  D.,  4614  Prospect   Ave.,   Cleveland,    Ohio    M  1930 

Cox,  Laurie  D.,  State  College  of  Forestry,  Syracuse,   New  York   M  1913 

Culley,   Frank   H.,   Iowa   State   College,   Ames,   Iowa    M  1931 

Dall,   Marcus   H..  44  Leonard  St.,  New  York   City     M  1921 

Davis,   Edward   G.,   Cornell   University,   Ithaca,   N.    Y.    M  1920 

Dawson,  J.   Frederick.  99  Warren  St.,  Brookline,    Mass.    M  1905-F  1914 

Dean,  Miss  Ruth   B..  137  East  55th  St.,  New  York    City    M  1931 

DeBoer,  S.  R.,  208  Tramway  Bldg.,  Denver,  Col. M  1931 

DcForest,  Ailing  S..  332-225  Sibley   Block,  Rochester,   N.    Y. F  1908 

Desmond,  Thomas   H.,   Simsbury,   Connecticut  M  1912 

tDow,  Dana  F.,  New  Rochelle,  New  York M  1903-1913 

Draper,  Earle  S.,  11   East  5th  St.,  Charlotte,  N.  C.    M  1930 

Eliot,   Charles   W..   17   Fresh    Pond   Parkway,   Cambridge,    Mass.    H  1916 

Elwood,  Philip  H.,  Jr.,  20  South  3rd  St.,  Columbus,   O.   M  1915 

Evans,  Frederick  N.,  304  City  Hall,  Sacramento,   Cal.   M  1913 

*-'>>f^    Farrand.   Mrs.   Beatrix,   31    East   11th   St.,   New  York    City    F 1899 

tFitz-Randolph,   Edgar,  New  York  City   M  1908-1910 

Fleming,   Bryant,  Wyoming,  New  York   M  1905-F  1911 

Flint,  Herbert  L.,  c/o  A.  D.  Taylor,  Cleveland,    O.    - M  1919 

Foster,  Philip  W.,   Harvard   Sq.,   Cambridge,   Mass.     M  1931 

Fowler,   Clarence,   15   East  40th  St.,  New  York  City    M  1914 


8  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 

Gallagher,   Percival.  99  Warren   St.,   Brookline,   Mass.    M  1904-F  1910 

Gatringer,   Joseph,    Municipal    Bldg.,    New   York  City M   1906 

Gay,  Willard  W.,  70  East  45th  St.,  New  York  City    M  1906 

Geiffert,   Alfred,    Ir.,   527   Fifth   Ave.,   New  York   City    M  1915 

Gibbs,  George,  Jr.,  1818  16th  St.,  N.  W.,  Washington,    D.   C.   M  1913-F  1919 

Gillette,  Charles  F.,  P.  O.  Box  No.  945,  Richmond,   Va.   M  1921 

Gott.   Francis   H.,   903   Merchants   Road,   Rochester,    N.    Y.    M  1921 

Greenleaf,  James  L.,  1   Broadway,  New  York  City    F  1904 

Gregg,  J.  W.,  University  of   California,   Berkley,    Cal.    M  1921 

Hall,  George  D.,  I.  W.  Hellman  Bldg.,  Los  Angeles,    Cal.   F  1913 

Hare,  S.   Herbert,  604  Gumbel  Bldg.,   Kansas  City.    Mo.    M  1914-F  1920 

Hare,   Sidney  J.,   604   Gumbel    Bldg.,    Kansas    City,   Mo.   F 1912 

Herminghaus,  E.  H.,  Bankers  Life  Bldg.,  Lincoln,    Neb.    M  1916 

tHolton,  Arthur  A.,  Yonkers,  New  York M  1902-1912 

Hostetter,  Harry  B.,   Bureau  of  MunicipaHties,  Dept.  Internal  Aflfairs,  Harrisburg,  Pa.  ---M  1921 

tHoth.   Frederick  C,  New  York  City  M  1904-1911 

Hubbard,   Henry   V.,   Robinson   Hall,    Cambridge,    Mass.    M  1905-F  1910 

Hutcheson,   Mrs.   Martha   Brooks,  45   East  82nd  St.,  New  York  City M  1920 

Imlay,  Hugh  A.,  816  Glenwood  Ave.,  Youngstown,   Ohio   M  1921 

Johnston.  Donald  B..  527  Fifth  Ave.,  New  York   City   M  1918 

kellaway.   Herbert  J.,   12  West  St.,   Boston,   Mass.    M  1908-F  1912 

tKennard,   Frederick  H.,   Boston,   Mass.   F  1905-1919 

Kessler,  George  E.,  423  Security  Bldg.,  St.  Louis.   Mo.   F  1919 

Kimball,  Miss  Theodora,   Robinson   Hall,   Cambridge,  Mass.   A  1919 

Kruse,  Arthur  M..  71  King  St.,  W.,  Toronto,  Canada     M  1915 

Langdon,  James  G.,  15  Packard  Ave.,  W.  Somerville,    Mass.     F  1918 

*Langton,  Daniel  W.,  New  York  City F  1899-1909 

Lay.  Charles  D..  101  Park  Ave.,  New  York  City    M  1904-F  1910 

Leavitt.  Charles  W..  18  East  41st  St.,  New  York    City    F  1904 

tLollesgaard,  Svend,  Chicago,   111. M  1902-1912 

!    Lowrie,   Charles  N.,  101   Park  Ave.,  New  York  City     F  1899 

Manning,  A.  Chandler.  Wilmington.  Mass. ^^  19"-1 

Manning.  Warren  H..  North  Billerica.  Mass. F  1899 

Marquis.  William   B..  99  Warren   St.,   Brookline,    Mass.    M  1920 

McCrary,    Irvin   J.,   900   Exchange   Bldg.,   Denver,   Col.   M  1914 

McFarland,  J.   Horace,   Mount   Pleasant   Press,   Harrisburg,    Pa.    A 1916 

Mische,  Emanuel  T.,  Portland,  Oregon M  1905-F  1918 

Morell,   Anthony  U.,   1200  2nd   Ave.,   S.,   Minneapolis,     Minn.    M  1906-F  1915 

Movius,  Hallam  L.,  8  Winter  St.,  Boston,  Mass. M  1907 

Munroe,  William  H.,  103  Park  Ave.,  New  York   City   M  1919 

tMunson.  J.  Pomroy,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.   M  1906-1930 

Nason,  George  L.,  639  Endicott  Bldg.,  St.  Paul,    Minn.    M  1916 

Negus,  Samuel  J.,   16  Arlington  St..   Boston.   Mass.     M  1903-F  1914 

Nichols.  Arthur  R.,   1200  3nd   Ave.,   S..  Minneapolis,    Minn.    M  1906-F  1915 

Nicolet,  Tell  W.,  28  Academy  Ave.,   Pittsburg,   Pa.    M  1918 

Nolen,  John,  Harvard  Square,  Cambridge,  Mass.     M  1905-F  1910 

Norton.    Harvard,    1301    Kresge   Bldg.,   Detroit,    Mich.    M  1920 

Noyes,   John,   Missouri    Botanical    Gardens,    St.    Louis,    Mo.    M  1914 

7     Olmsted,  Frederick  L.,  99  Warren  St.,  Brookline,   Mass.   F  1899 

"'-♦Olmsted,  John  C,  Brookline,   Mass.   F  1899-1920 

Outhet.  Rickson  A..  Beaver  Hall  Hill,  Montreal,    Canada    M  1910-F  1912 

tParce.  William  W..  Baltimore.   Md.  F  1900-1903-F  1907-1919 

Parker,  Carl  R..  99  Warren  St.  Brookline,  Mass.    M  1908-F  1915 

1   Parsons,  Samuel,  101  Park  Ave.,  New  York  City     F  1899 

Payne,  Irving  W.,  1739  New  York  Ave.,  Washington,   D.   C.   M  19-1 

Pearse,  Rubee  J.,  261  Fine  Arts  Bldg.,  Des  Moines,  Iowa  M  1920 

tPentecost,  George  F.,  Jr.,  New  York  City F  1899-1931 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITFXTS  9 

Philbrick,   W.   E.,   244   Plymouth    Bldg.,    Minneapolis,    Minn.    M  1919 

Phillips,  T.   Glenn,  1201   Kresge   Bldg.,  Detroit,   Mich.    --M  1907-F  1915 

Phillips,  William   L.,  99  Warren   St.,   Brookline,    Mass.    M  1912 

Pilat,  Carl  F.,  132  Nassau  St..  New  York  City  — M  1905-F  1912 

Pitkin,  William,  Jr.,  4500  Euclid  Ave.,  Cleveland,    O.    M  1912 

Piatt,  Charles  A.,  101  Park  Ave.,  New  York  City     A  1913 

Pond,  Bremer  W.,  18  Fremont  St.,   Boston,   Mass.,    M1916-F1921 

Pray,  James  S.,  50  Garden  St.,  Cambridge,   Mass.     M  1903-F  1906 

*Punchard,  Charles  P.,  Washington,  D.  C. M  1912-1920 

Punchard,  William  H.,  16  Arlington  St.,  Boston,    Mass.    M  1920 

Ramsdell,  Charles  H.,  937   Metropolitan   Life  Bldg.,    Minneapolis,    Minn.    M  1913-F  1916 

tReynolds,  Harris  A.,  4  Joy  St.,  Boston,  Mass. M  1914-1921 

♦Robinson,  Charles  M.,  Rochester,  N.  Y. A  1915-1917 

Robinson,  Francis  A.,  261  Fine  Arts  Bldg.,  Des  Moines,   Iowa   M  1914 

tRotch,  A.  G..   Boston,   Mass.   M   1930 

Roy,  W.  Ormiston,  Mt.  Royal  Cemetery  Co.,  Montreal,   Canada   M  1908 

Saltus,  Rollin  S.,  Mt.  Kisco,  N.  Y. M  1906 

Sanger,  Prentice,  21  East  40th  St.,  New  York  City     M  1914 

Schernierhorn,    Richard,   Jr.,   363    Lexington   Ave.,   New  York   City   M  1904-F  1914 

Schumm,  Paul  B.,  15  East  40th  St.,  New  York  City    M  1921 

Sears,  Thomas  W.,  1424  Walnut  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. M  1906-F  1921 

Shurtleff,  Arthur  A.,  89  State  St.,  Boston,  Mass.     M  1899-F  1905 

Simonds,   Ossian    C,    1102    Buena   Ave.,    Chicago,    111.    F  1899 

Smith,   F.  A.   Cushing,   166  West  Jackson   Blvd..    Chicago,    111.    M  1915 

Smith,  J.  Hugh,  620  Home  Savings  and  Loan  Bldg.,  Youngstown,  Ohio M  1920 

Smith,  Sibley  C,  107  Westminster  St.,  Providence,   R.   I.   M  1912 

Steele,  Fletcher,  7  Water  St.,  Boston,  Mass. M  1912-F  1918 

Stiles,  Wayne   E.,  97  Oliver  St.,  Boston,  Mass. M  1915-F  1921 

Strang,  Mrs.  R.  R.,  Leominster,  Mass. M  1914 

Tapscott,    Kenneth   A.,   4614    Prospect   Ave.,    Cleveland,    Ohio    M  1920 

Taylor,  Albert  D.,  4614  Prospect  Ave.,  Cleveland,   Ohio   M  1908-F  1919 

Tealdi,  Aubrey,  University  of  Michigan,  Ann  Arbor,    Mich.   M  1912 

Tilton,  L.  D.,  Compton  Bldg.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. M  1921 

tTownsend,  F.  DePeyster,  Rochester,  N.  Y. M    1905-1919 

Tripp,  Miss  Amy  F..  227  Benefit  St.,  Providence,   R.   I.   M  1920 

Tripp.  Burton  A.,  Guardian  Bldg.,  Cleveland,  Ohio    M  1921 

Trout,   Edward   H.,  4614   Prospect  Ave.,  Cleveland,   Ohio    M  1920 

tUnderhiU,  Arthur,  New  York   City -  M  1906-1919 

Underwood,  Loring,  45   Bromfield  St.,   Boston,     N.  Y.  F  1912 

tVaux,  Downing,   Central  Y.   M.  C.  A.,   Kingston,  N.  Y. F  1899 

Vitale,   Ferruccio,  527   Fifth  Ave.,   New  York  City     M  1904-F  1908 

Wcinrichter,   Ralph   M.,   10   East   43rd   St.,   New  York    City    M  1905-F  1916 

Wheelwright,  Robert,  1618  Latimer  St.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.   M  1910 

tWhite,   Henry  P.,   Boston,   Mass. M  1905-1911 

White,  Stanley   H.,   University  of  Illinois,  Urbana,    111.    M  1921 

Whiting,   Edward  C,  99  Warren  St.,   Brookline,    Mass.    M  1912 

Wilcox,  Raymond  H.,  1000  W.  Forest  Ave.,  Detroit,   Mich.   M  1915 

Wyman,   Phelps,   201   Essex   Bldg.,   Minneapolis,    Minn.    — M  1905-F  1912 

Zehrung,  Samuel  Danford,  San  Rae  Gardens,  R.  R.,  No.  11,  Dayton,  Ohio  - M  1920 

LIST  OF  CHAPTERS,  AS  OF  1921 

Boston   Chapter           -             -             -             -          founded  in    1913 

New  York  Chapter  -            -            -            -         "  "  1914 

Minnesota  Chapter     -             -             -             -               ..  <.  jgjg 

Mid-West  Chapter  -             -             -             -         "  "  1916 

Pacific  Coast  Chapter            .            .            .              .<  ..  jg-^g 


10 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


BY-LAWS 

Revised   to  July,    1922 


"The  Corporation  is  constituted  for  the 
purpose  of  increasing  the  efficiency  and 
influence  of  the  profession,  and  to  foster 
good  fellowship  among  its  members,  and 
to  promote  the  public  welfare." — From 
Agreement  of  Association. 

Article  I 
MEMBERSHIP 

Sec.  1.  The  membership  shall  con- 
sist of  Members,  Fellows,  Associates, 
Corresponding,  and  Honorary  Members. 

Sec.  2.  Members  shall  be  landscape 
architects,  at  least  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  of  all-round  technical  training  and  in 
good  professional  standing,  whose  ca- 
pacity, attainments,  aims,  and  character 
are  judged  to  be  such  as  will  promote  the 
objects  of  the  Society.  "All-round  tech- 
nical training"  is  to  be  understood  to  in- 
clude technical  training  in  respect  to 
plants  and  the  making  and  execution  of 
planting  plans,  in  respect  to  grading  and 
the  designing  and  direction  of  engineer- 
ing work  incidental  to  landscape  archi- 
tecture, and  in  respect  to  the  designing 
of  architectural  structures  incidental  to 
landscape  architecture,  as  well  as  train- 
ing in  design  in  the  solution  of  problems 
involving  all  or  any  of  these.  "Good 
professional  standing"  implies  that  the 
candidate  for  membership  is  one  who 
practices  the  art  of  fitting  land  for  humin 
use  and  enjoyment,  and  whose  compen- 
sation is  received  directly  from  clients  or 
employers  for  professional  services  ren- 
dered and  not  in  the  form  of  a  commer- 
cial or  speculative  profit  on  materials  or 


labor  nor  from  persons  supplying  materi- 
als or  labor  to  said  clients  or  employers. 

Sec.  3.  Fellows  shall  be  landscape 
architects  of  at  least  two  years'  standing 
as  Members  and  of  not  less  than  30  years 
of  age,  who  have  been  active  in  the  pro- 
fession for  at  least  ten  years  and  who 
have  been  in  independent  practice  for  at 
least  five  years,  and  who  have  produced 
work  sufficient  in  amount,  in  range,  and 
in  quality,  to  afford  conclusive  evidence 
of  their  attainment  to  a  high  degree  of 
professional  competence. 

A  landscape  architect  in  independent 
practice  is  one  whose  practice  of  the  pro- 
fession is  conducted  wholly  or  mainly 
under  his  own  name  and  upon  his  own 
financial  and  professional  responsibility 
or  under  the  name  and  upon  the  financial 
and  professional  responsibility  of  a  firm 
of  which  he  is  a  member ;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  for  the  purposes  of  this  section 
the  Board  of  Trustees  may,  in  their  dis- 
cretion, classify  as  in  independent  prac- 
tice a  landscape  architect,  in  the  employ 
of  a  corporation,  firms  or  individual  en- 
gaged in  the  practice  of  landscape  archi- 
tecture, of  whom  it  is  indicated  on  the 
letterhead  of  his  employer  and  stated  in 
writing-  to  the  Board  by  his  employer 
that  he  is  habitually  charged  with  pro- 
fessional responsibilities  on  behalf  of  his 
employer  equivalent  to  those  assumed  by 
a  partner  in  a  firm. 

Sec.  4.  Associates  shall  be  persons, 
other  than  landscape  architects,  who 
have  performed  notable  service  in  ad- 
vancing the  interest  of  the  profession. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


11 


Sec.  5.  Corresponding  Members  shall 
be  landscape  architects,  abroad,  of  dis- 
tinction, whom  it  is  desired  to  honor. 

Sec.  6.  Honorary  Members  shall  be 
distinguished  persons  whom  it  is  deemed 
desirable  and  appropriate  for  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Landscape  Architects  to 
honor. 

Sec.  T.  The  name  of  a  candidate  for 
admission  as  Fellow,  as  Associate,  or  as 
Corresponding  or  Honorary  Member, 
shall  be  proposed  over  the  signatures  of 
tw-o  Fellows  of  the  Society,  and  the  name 
of  a  candidate  for  admission  as  Member 
shall  be  proposed  over  the  signatures  of 
two  Fellows  of  the  Society  or  of  one 
Fellow  and  one  Member  of  the  Society. 
In  any  case  the  proposal  shall  be  filled  out 
on  a  blank  form,  which  shall  supply  pre- 
liminary information  furnished  by  the 
proposers  about  the  candidate. 

Sec.  8.  The  name  of  any  candidate 
proposed  for  admission  to  any  one  of  the 
five  forms  of  membership  shall  be  sub- 
mitted to  a  sub-committee  to  be  known 
as  the  Examining  Board,  consisting  of 
three  members  of  the  Society,  of  whom 
at  least  two  shall  be  members  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  all  three  members  to 
be  elected  annually  by  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  and  not  more  than  two  of  them 
to  have  their  place  of  business  in  the 
same  state. 

."^ec.  9.  When  a  proposal  for  any  grade 
of  membership,  duly  made  out,  shall 
have  been  received  by  the  E.xamining 
Board,  they  shall  mail  to  all  members  of 
the  Society  a  notice  thereof,  giving  a  brief 
statement  as  to  the  kind  and  extent  of 
education,  training,  and  present  work  of 
the  candidate,  and  shall  request  members 
to  submit  within  thirty  days  confidential 
communications   upon   the   personal   and 


professional  qualifications  and  standing 
of  the  candidate,  and  opinions  favorable 
or  unfavorable  to  the  candidate's  election. 
Every  such  communication  shall  be 
signed  and  objections  shall  be  accomp- 
anied by  the  reasons  therefor. 

If  upon  canvassing  the  replies  the  Ex- 
amining Board  judge  the  general  profes- 
sional or  personal  standing  of  the  candi- 
date not  to  be  in  accordance  with  the 
standards  of  the  Society  for  the  grade  of 
membership  proposed,  the  proposal  shall 
be  rejected  and  the  proposers  so  notified. 

Unless  rejected  on  consideration  of  the 
replies  from  members,  the  candidate  shall 
be  requested  to  submit  further  evidence 
of  professional  abilities  such  as  plans, 
drawings,  before  and  after  photographs, 
reports,  etc.,  setting  forth  the  candidate's 
own  work  in  landscape  architecture,  and 
such  material  when  submitted  shall  re- 
main the  property  of  the  Society.  On 
examination  of  such  material  and  of  all 
other  evidence  before  it,  the  Examining 
Board  shall  vote  to  recommend,  or  not 
to  recommend,  to  the  Trustees  the  elec- 
tion of  the  candidate. 

Sec.  10.  The  Examining  Board  shall 
not  take  final  action  upon  a  candidate 
within  less  than  thirty  days  after  asking 
the  opinion  of  members  in  regard  to  lhe_ 
candidate.  i 

Sec.  II.  In  recommending  to  the 
Board  of  Trustees  a  candidate  as  Mem- 
ber, or  Fellow,  or  Associate,  or  Hon- 
orary, or  Corresponding  Member,  the  Ex- 
amining Board  shall  report  in  w-riting,  the 
grounds  upon  which  the  recommendation 
is  based. 

Sec.  18.  The  names  of  candidates, 
having  been  reported  by  the  Examining 
Board,  shall  then  be  voted  upon  by  the 


12 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


Board  by  mail  ballot.  The  affirmative 
votes  of  two-thirds  of  the  Trustees  shall 
elect  a  candidate,  provided  no  negative 
vote  is  cast. 

Sec.  13.  Any  candidate  for  Member- 
ship or  Fellowship  who  fails  to  secure 
the  recommendation  of  the  Examining 
Board  for  election  may  not  become  a  can- 
didate again  until  two  years  shall  have 
elapsed  from  the  date  of  the  Board's  last 
decision  in  regard  to  the  candidate. 

Sec.  14.  Fellows  retiring  from  the 
practice  of  the  profession  may  be  con- 
tinued as  Fellows  by  vote  of  the  Society. 

Sec.  15.  Members  shall  have  the  vote 
five  years  after  date  of  election.  They 
shall  not  be  eligible  to  office  or  to  mem- 
bership on  the  Board  of  Trustees,  but 
shall  be  eligible  for  appointment  on  Com- 
mittees. 

Sec.  16.  Fellows  shall  have  the  vote, 
and  be  eligible  to  office  and  to  member- 
ship on  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Sec.  17.  Associates  shall  have  no 
vote,  and  shall  not  be  eligible  to  office  or 
to  membership  on  the  Board  of  Trustees, 
but  shall  be  eligible  for  appointment  on 
committees. 

Sec.  18.  Corresponding  and  Honor- 
ary Members  shall  have  no  vote,  shall 
not  be  eligible  to  office  or  to  member- 
ship on  the  Board  of  Trustees,  but  shall 
be  eligible  to  appointment  on  commit- 
tees, and  shall  be  exempt  from  all  fees 
and  dues. 

Sec.  19.  A  Member  or  a  Fellow  may 
be  expelled  by  two-thirds  vote  of  the 
Fellows  and  voting  Members  mailed  or 
handed  to  the  Secretary. 


Article  II 

OFFICERS,  BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES 

Sec.  1.  The  officers  shall  be  a 
President,  a  Vice-President,  a  Treasurer, 
and  a  Secretary,  who,  together  with  a 
representative  from  each  chapter  chosen 
by  the  Fellows  and  voting  Members  of 
the  Society,  shall  constitute  the  govern- 
ing board,  and  be  known  as  the  Board  of 
Trustees. 

Sec.  3.  Officers  and  other  members  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  shall  be  elected  by 
the  affirmative  ballots  of  a  majority  of 
the  Fellows  and  voting  Members,  mailed 
or  handed  to  the  Secretary,  and  shall  hold 
office  until  their  successors  shall  have 
been  elected  and  shall  have  qualified. 

The  method  of  nomination  and  elec- 
tion shall  be  as  follows:  On  or  before  Oc- 
tober 1  of  each  year  the  Secretary  shall 
mail  to  each  member  a  list  of  the  then 
officers  and  trustees  with  an  indication 
of  the  dates  of  the  expirations  of  their 
several  terms  and  the  vacancies  to  occur 
at  the  end  of  the  current  official  year  and 
the  terms  for  which  such  vacancies  are  to 
be  filled,  together  with  a  copy  of  this  sec- 
tion of  the  By-Laws,  and  shall  invite  all 
members  to  submit  to  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees through  the  Secretary  before  Novem- 
ber 1  any  suggestions  they  may  have  for 
filling  the  vacancies.  Between  Novem- 
ber 1  and  November  10  the  Board  of 
Trustees  shall  consider  the  suggestions  oi 
members  submitted  through  the  Secre- 
tary and  make  nominations  for  filling  the 
vacancies,  and  the  Secretary  shall  mail 
these  nominations  to  all  Fellows  and  vot- 
ing Members.  Any  Fellow  or  voting 
Member  may  between  November  10  and 
December  10  submit  over  his  signature 
to  the  Secretary  independent  nomina- 
tions. Between  December  10  and  De- 
cember 15  the  Secretary  shall  mail  to  each 
Fellow  and  voting  Member  an  official  bal- 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


13 


lot  containing  the  nominations  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  and  any  independent 
nominations  received  by  him  before  De- 
cember 10,  and  use  every  reasonable  ef- 
fort to  secure  the  return  of  sufficient  bal- 
lots previous  to  the  Annual  Meeting  of 
the  Society  to  permit  formal  announce- 
ment of  the  election  at  that  meeting;  im- 
mediately after  which,  if  previously  elect- 
ed, or  as  soon  thereafter  as  elected,  the 
new  officers  and  other  new  trustees  shall 
assume  office. 

Sec.  3.  The  President,  or,  in  his  ab- 
sence, the  Vice-President,  shall  call  and 
preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Society  and 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  shall  per- 
form such  duties  as  are  customary  to  the 
office,  or  as  shall  have  become  customary 
to  the  office  in  this  Society,  or  as  may  be 
assigned  to  him  by  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees. 

In  the  absence  of  both  President  and 
Vice-President  from  any  meeting  of  the 
Society  or  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  or 
in  the  event  that  neither  of  these  is  able 
to  preside,  a  temporary  chairman  shall 
be  elected  by  the  meeting  to  perform  the 
functions  of  the  President  during  the 
meeting. 

Sec.  4.  The  Treasurer  shall  receive  all 
money  due  the  Society,  and  shall  receipt 
for  it ;  shall  disburse  the  funds  but  only 
on  order  of  the  President,  as  authorized 
by  the  Board  of  Trustees ;  shall  keep  the 
accounts,  which  shall  at  all  times  be  open 
to  the  inspection  of  the  officers  and  the 
Board  of  Trustees ;  and  shall  perform 
such  other  duties  as  are  customary  to  the 
office,  or  as  shall  become  customary  to 
the  office  in  this  Society,  or  as  may  be 
assigned  to  him  by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Sec.  5.  The  Secretary  shall  keep  a 
record  of  all  the  proceedings  of  the  So- 
ciety; notify  members  of  their  election  to 


office  or  appointment  to  committees  and 
candidates  for  admission  or  advancement 
of  their  election  ;  issue  all  notices  includ- 
ing the  presentation  of  questions  for  mail- 
ballot  vote ;  and  perform  such  other  du- 
ties as  are  customary  to  the  office,  or 
shall  have  become  customary  to  the  office 
in  this  Society,  or  as  may  be  assigned  to 
him  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  or  the 
President. 

Sec.  (i.  The  President,  the  Treasurer, 
and  the  Secretary  shall  report  annually  to 
the  Society  in  time  for  the  Board  of 
Trustees  to  act  on  such  reports  before 
their  presentation  at  the  Annual  Meeting 
of  the  Society. 

Sec.  T.  The  Treasurer's  accounts  shall 
be  audited  at  or  before  the  time  of  the 
Annual  Meeting  by  two  auditors  who 
shall  be  nominated  and  elected  each  year 
for  the  ensuing  year  in  the  same  manner 
as  provided  for  the  officers  in  Section  2 
of  this   article. 

Sec.  8.  In  January,  1020,  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  Secretary  shall  be  elected 
each  for  a  term  of  one  year,  the  Vice- 
President  and  Treasurer  each  for  a  term 
of  two  years;  in  January,  1921,  the  Presi- 
dent and  the  Secretary  each  for  a  term 
of  two  years;  in  January,  1922,  the  Vice- 
President  and  Treasurer  each  for  a  term 
of  two  years ;  and,  thereafter,  each  of 
these  offices  shall  continue  to  be  filled, 
by  biennial  elections,  for  terms  of  two 
years. 

Sec.  9.  In  addition  to  the  election 
of  officers  (as  provided  in  Section  8 
above  of  this  Article)  the  trustees  here- 
tofore elected  shall  serve  out  the  terms 
for  which  they  were  elected,  and  there 
shall  be  elected  in  January,  1920 : 

One  trustee  representing  the  New 
York  Chapter  to  serve  2  years. 


14 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


One   trustee    representing   the    Pacific 
Coast  Chapter  to  serve  2  years,  and 

One  trustee  representing  the  Mid-west 
Chapter  to  serve  1  year. 

In  January,  1931 : 

One  trustee  representing  the  Boston 
Chapter  to  serve  2  years,  and 

One  trustee  representing  the  Mid-west 
Chapter  to  serve  2  years. 

In  January,  1922 : 

One  trustee  representing  the  New 
York  Chapter  to  serve  2  years. 

One  trustee  representing  the  Pacific 
Coast  Chapter  to  serve  2  years,  and 

One  trustee  representing  the  Minne- 
sota Chapter  to  serve  2  years ;  and,  there- 
after, any  vacancy  occurring  in  the  Board 
of  Trustees  by  the  expiration  of  a  term 
shall  be  filled  for  a  succeeding  term  of 
two  years;  provided  that  any  newly  ad- 
mitted Chapter  shall  be  entitled  to  have 
a  representative  elected  to  the  Board  of 
Trustees  in  the  January  next  following 
its  admission  and  that  the  term  of  office 
of  the  first  representative  shall  be  either 
one  year  or  two  years  as  determined  by 
vote  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  order  to 
secure  the  more  perfect  alternation  of 
the  personnel  of  the  Board. 

Sec.  10.  Vacancies  occurring  in  the 
Board  of  Trustees  or  in  any  office  be- 
tween elections  shall  be  filled  by  vote  of 
the  Board  but  only  for  the  balance  of  the 
current  year  or  until  the  next  regular 
election  occurs,  and  such  vacancies  shall 
then  be  filled  in  the  usual  way  by  the 
affirmative  ballots  of  the  majority  of  the 
Fellows  and  voting  Members,  either  for 
the  remainder  of  an  unexpired  term  or 
for  a  new  term,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Sec.  11.  The  Board  of  Trustees  shall 
consider  and  report  upon  all  business  to 
be  acted  upon  by  the  Society ;  shall  es- 
tablish rules  for  the  regulation  of  its 
proceedings;  shall  put  into  effect  the 
votes   of  the   Society;   shall   be  the   cus- 


todian of  all  its  property ;  shall  authorize 
all  contracts  and  expenditures,  but  shall 
not  incur  any  liabilities  exceeding  the 
amounts  of  the  unappropriated  funds  in 
the  hands  of  the  Treasurer ;  shall,  through 
the  Examining  Board,  inquire  into  the 
professional  qualifications  and  personal 
standings  of  all  candidates  for  any 
of  the  forms  of  membership  shall 
nominate  candidates  for  office  (see  Sec- 
tion 2  above  of  this  Article)  ;  shall  have 
authority  to  create  and  abolish  Standing 
Committees  and  to  appoint  to  them,  and 
to  appoint  and  discharge  Special  Com- 
mittees, to  further  the  work  of  the  So- 
ciety ;  shall  have  authority  to  delegate  its 
powers  for  the  transaction  of  ordinary  or 
routine  business  to  an  Executive  Com- 
mittee, which  shall  exercise  said  powers 
when  the  Board  is  not  in  session,  all  ac- 
tions afifecting  the  policy  of  the  Society 
requiring  a  majority  vote  of  the  Board ; 
shall  examine  and  pass  upon  the  consti- 
tutions and  by-laws  of  local  organizations 
seeking  admission  as  chapters,  and,  when 
satisfied,  recommend  the  admission  of 
such  organizations ;  and  shall  perform 
such  other  functions  as  are  customary  for 
the  Board  of  Directors  or  Trustees  of  a 
corporation  to  perform,  or  as  shall  have 
become  customary  for  this  Board  of 
Trustees,  or  may  later  be  assigned  or 
delegated  to  it  by  the  Fellows  and  voting- 
Members  of  the  Society.  The  formal  ap- 
proval and  ratification  of  the  acts  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  shall  be  annually  put 
to  the  mail-ballot  vote  of  the  Fellows  and 
voting  Members. 

Sec.  12.  Meetings  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  shall  be  called  by  the  President 
as  frequently  as,  in  his  judgment,  the 
accumulation  of  business  to  be  transacted 
bv  the  Board  shall  demand,  and  at  places 
and  times  to  be  determined  by  him ;  pro- 
vided that  the  Board  shall  meet  at  least 
once  in  every  six  months. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


15 


Sec.  13  Any  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  absent  from  a  meeting  of  the 
Board  may  be  represented  by  another 
member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  present 
and  holding  his  written  proxy  for  that 
meeting,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
Secretary  in  issuing  notice  of  any  meet- 
ing of  the  Board,  to  state  all  the  import- 
ant business  to  come  before  the  meeting 
and  to  invite  a  proxy  from  any  member 
not  expecting  to  attend. 

Sec.  14.  A  majority  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  present  in  person  and  by  proxy 
shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  trans- 
action of  business  at  any  of  its  meetings. 

Sec.  !■).  Business  discussion  and  bal- 
loting on  the  part  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees may  be  conducted  by  mail,  telegram, 
or  telephone ;  but,  in  any  case,  any  three 
members  of  the  Board  shall  have  the 
right  within  three  days  of  the  issuance 
of  the  notice  by  mail  or  telegram,  or  of 
their  receipt  of  the  notice  by  telephone. 
to  call  for  the  discussion  of  the  matter  in 
open  meeting,  whereupon  such  open 
meeting  shall  be  necessary  prior  to  action 
on  the  matter  in  question ;  and  the  re- 
sults of  any  voting  by  mail,  telegram,  or 
telephone  shall  be  reported  at  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Board,  and  be  made  a  mat- 
ter of  record. 

Article  III 

MEETINGS 

Sec.  1.  There  shall  be  an  annual 
Meeting  in  the  month  of  January  in  each 
year  at  a  time  and  place  to  be  determined 
by  the  Board  of  Trustees. 

Sec.  2.  Other  meetings  may  be  called 
by  the  President,  with  the  approval  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  shall  be 
called  by  him  on  petition  signed  by  twen- 
ty Fellows. 


Sec.  3.  Thirty  days'  notice  of  all  meet- 
ings of  the  Society  shall  be  mailed  to  all 
members,  except  in  an  emergency,  when, 
with  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, the  President  may  call  a  meeting 
at  shorter  notice. 

Sec.  4.  Ten  Fellows  and  voting  Mem- 
bers shall  constitute  a  quorum  at  any 
meeting  of  the  Society ;  but  no  vote 
passed  at  any  meeting  of  the  Society 
shall  be  regarded  as  doing  more  than  ex- 
pressing the  collective  judgment  of  those 
present  unless  and  until  approved  by  the 
Board  of  Trustees  and  by  the  necessary 
affirmative  ballots  of  at  least  a  majority 
of  the  Fellows  and  voting  Members  (cf. 
Article  4,  Business,  Section  1). 

Sec.  5.  No  guests  shall  be  invited  to 
any  business  meeting  of  the  Society  ex- 
cept with  the  consent  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  but  this  restriction  shall  not  be 
understood  to  apply  to  dinners  and  even- 
ing meetings  or  to  other  occasions  where 
business  is  not  to  be  transacted. 

Article  IV 
BUSINESS 

Sec.  1.  All  business  shall  be  re- 
ported upon  by  the  Board  of  Trustees 
before  being  voted  upon  by  the  Society ; 
and  all  votes  committing  the  Society  to 
any  measure  shall  be  taken  by  mail- 
ballot,  and,  to  be  effective,  must  be  taken 
after  or  with  written  notice  to  the  whole 
membership,  and  be  passed  by  the  affirm- 
ative ballots  of  at  least  a  majority  of  the 
Fellows  and  voting  Members  of  the  So- 
ciety; provided  that  the  affirmative  bal- 
lots of  a  majority  of  the  Fellows  and 
voting  Members  of  the  Society,  present 
at  any  meeting  of  the  Society,  shall  be 
effective  if  and  when  the  action  shall  have 
been  approved  by  the  Board  of  Trustees 
and  even  though  written  notice  shall  not 


16 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


have  been  sent  out  to  the  whole  member- 
ship ;  and  provided  that,  in  any  case,  one- 
fifth  of  the  total  number  qualified  to  vote 
on  the  matter  shall  have  the  right,  within 
three  days  of  the  issuance  of  the  notice, 
to  call  for  the  discussion  of  the  question 
in  open  meeting,  whereupon  such  discus- 
sion in  open  meeting  shall  be  necessary 
prior  to  action  on  the  question. 

Sec.  2.  At  or  before  the  Annual  Meet- 
ing, tellers  shall  be  appointed  by  the 
President  who  shall  count  all  mail-ballots 
received  by  the  Secretary  during  the  pre- 
ceding year,  and  report  in  writing  over 
their  signatures  the  tabulated  results, 
which  shall  be  filed  by  the  Secretary. 


Article  V 

CHAPTERS 

Sec.  1.  Local  Chapters  may  be 
founded  by  any  three  or  more  Fellows 
with  the  approval  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees by  a  majority  vote  of  the  Fellows 
of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects,  Inc.,  provided  that  all  voting 
Members  of  such  Chapters  shall  be  Mem- 
bers or  Fellows  of  the  American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects,  Inc.,  and  shall 
remain  members  thereof  in  good  stand- 
ing, and  provided  that  the  Presidents  and 
Vice-Presidents  and  a  majority  of  each 
Board  of  Trustees  or  of  each  Executive 
Committee  of  such  Chapters  shall  be 
Fellows  of  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects,  Inc.,  and  provided  that 
the  Constitutions  of  such  Chapters  shall, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects,  Inc.,  not  be  in  conflict  with 
these  By-Laws  and  shall  have  been  ap- 
proved by  and  shall  be  modified  only 
with  the  consent  of  or  at  the  request  of 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  American 
Society    of    Landscape   Architects,    Inc., 


and  provided  that  the  American  Society , 
of  Landscape  Architects,  Inc.,  may  at  any^ 
time  by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  its  Fellows 
abolish  any  Chapter,  and  provided  that 
each  year,  in  time  for  presentation  at\the 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects,  Inc.,  the  Presi- 
dent of  each  Chapter  shall  report,  through 
the  Chapter's  Secretary,  to  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects,  Inc.,  regarding 
the  important  events  of  the  previous 
year  in  the  life  of  the  Chapter. 

Article  VI 
FEES  AND  DUES 

Sec.  1.  Candidates  for  admission 
shall  be  subject  to  an  admission  fee  of 
ten  dollars  ($10.00)  one-half  of  which 
shall  accompany  their  proposal,  the  bal- 
ance to  be  paid  upon  the  admission  of 
the  candidate.  Should  the  candidate  fail 
to  be  elected,  the  Society  shall  retain  the 
initial  payment  of  five  dollars  ($5.00)  to 
cover  expenses  of  inquiry  and  examina- 
tion. 

Candidates  for  advancement  shall  be 
subject  to  an  advancement  fee  of  ten  dol- 
lars ($10.00),  one-half  of  which  shall  ac- 
company their  proposal,  the  balance  to 
be  paid  upon  the  advancement  of  the  can- 
didate. Should  the  candidate  fail  of  ad- 
vancement, the  Society  shall  retain  the 
initial  payment  of  five  dollars  ($5.00)  to 
cover  expenses  of  inquiry  and  examina- 
tion. 

Sec.  2.  The  yearly  dues  for  Fellows 
shall  be  twenty-five  dollars  ($25.00)  ;  of 
Members,  ten  dollars  ($10.00)  ;  and  of 
Associates,  ten  dollars  ($10.00).  Persons 
admitted  or  advanced  after  October  1 
shall  be  exempt  from  dues  until  the  fol- 
lowing January. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITFXTS 


17 


Sec.  3.  Notification  of  outstanding 
dues  shall  be  sent  to  delinquent  members 
each  six  months  by  the  Treasurer  and  the 
delinquent  members  informed  of  the 
penalty  herein  provided  for.  If  a  mem- 
ber fails  for  two  years  to  pay  his  dues, 
he  shall  cease  to  be  a  member,  but  may, 
at  any  later  time,  by  special  vote  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees,  be  re-instated  on  pay- 
ment in  full  of  his  arrears  at  the  time  he 
ceased  to  be  a  member. 

Sec.  4.  Not  less  than  ten  per  centum 
of  the  annual  income  from  admission  and 
advancement  fees  and  from  dues  shall  be 
set  aside  every  year  and  become  part  of 
the  Reserve  Fund  established  under  date 


of  January  1,  1917,  which  fund  shall  be 
disbursed  only  for  such  special  purposes 
as  shall  be  authorized  by  a  two-thirds 
vote  of  all  the  Fellows. 

Article  VII 

AMENDMENTS 

Sec.  1.  Any  proposed  amendment 
to  these  By-Laws  shall  be  submitted  in 
writing  by  the  Secretary  to  all  the  Fel- 
lows and  voting  Members  at  least  sixty 
days  before  it  can  be  regarded  as  adopted, 
and,  for  adoption,  shall  require  the  affir- 
mative written  ballots  of  two-thirds  of 
said   Fellows  and   voting  Members. 


18 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


LIST  OF  OFFICERS 


1909—1922 


President 

F.   L.   Olmsted  1909-1910 

Charles  N.  Lowrie   1910-1913 

H.  A.   Caparn   1912-1913 

O.   C.  Simonds 1913-1914 

Warren  H.  Manning 1914-1915 

James   S.   Pray   1915-1920 

F.   L.   Olmsted   1920- 

Vice-President 

Charles  N.  Lowrie 1909-1910 

Warren  H.   Manning 1910-1913 

James  S.  Pray  1913-1915 

Harold  A.  Caparn 1915-1919 

James  S.  Greenleaf 1919-1931 

George  E.  Kessler 1921- 

Treasurer 

Harold  A.  Caparn 1909-1912 

Henry   V.    Hubbard    1913-1919 

Carl  R.  Parker 1919- 

Secretary 

Downing   Vaux    1909-1910 

C.  D.   Lay  1910-1914 

Ailing  S.  DeForest 1914-1918 

A.  F.  Brinckerhoff 1918-1921 

Bremer  W.  Pond 1921- 

Board  of  Trustees 

A.    F.   Brinckerhoff   1918-1931 

Harold  A.  Caparn 1909-1919 

Wilbur  D.  Cook,  Jr. 1920- 


A.  S.  DeForest 1914-1917 

Percival  Gallagher 1912-1914 

James  L.  Greenleaf 1920- 

Henry  V.  Hubbard 1913-1919 

George   E.   Kessler   1922- 

Charles   D.   Lay 1910-1917 

Charles  W.  Leavitt 1909-1910 

Charles  N.   Lowrie  1909-1912 

Warren  H.  Manning 1910-1919 

Arthur   R.   Nichols   1932- 

F.    L.    Olmsted    1909-1910 

J.  C.  Olmsted 1915-1920 

Carl  R.  Parker 1920- 

Carl  F.  Pilat 1920-1922 

T.  Glenn  Phillips 1920-1921 

Bremer  W.  Pond 1921- 

James  S.   Pray   1911- 

O.  C.  Simonds 1913-1914 

A.  A.  Shurtleff 1909-1910 

Albert  D.  Taylor 1921- 

Downing    Vaux    1909-1910 

F.  Vitale 1910-1920 

Phelps  Wyman 1919-1922 

Examining  Board 

T      r-           1      f  /  1910-1911 

James  L.  Greenleaf <  jgoQ. 

Herbert    J.    Kellaway    1930- 

Charles  D.  Lay 1910-1917 

Charles  N.  Lowrie 1919-1920 

Warren  H.   Manning  1910-1914 

John  C.  Olmsted 1915-1920 

Carl  R.  Parker 1920- 

James   S.   Pray 1911-1920 

Ferruccio  Vitale 1917-1919 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


19 


STANDING    COMMITTEES 


1909—1922 


Directory — 1920 

Stephen    Child    1920- 

Wilbur   D.   Cook,  Jr.   1920-1921 

Arthur   C.   Comey    1922- 

Philip  H.  Elwood  1922- 

George  D.   Hall 1922- 

Sidney  J.  Hare 1920-1921 

George   L.   Nason   1922- 

Arthur  R.  Nichols 1920-1921 

Bremer  W.   Pond  1920- 

Richard    Schernicrhorn    1920- 

Town  Planning  and  Industrial  Housing — 1918 

A.   C.  Comey 1918-1922 

George  Gibbs,  Jr.  1918- 

Henry   V.   Hubbard    1918- 

George    E.    Kessler    1922- 

John   Nolen   1922- 

Carl    R.    Parker    1918-1920 

Bremer   W.   Pond   1918-1922 

American   Academy  in   Rome   Fund — 1914 

Ferruccio    V'itale    1914- 

Frederick  L.  Olmsted  1914- 

Bryant  Fleming 1914- 

Education— 1912 

Harold  A.  Caparn 1912-1913 

Laurie  D.  Cox 1920- 

Frank   H.   CuUey    1922- 

Frederick  N.   Evans   1920- 

Beatrix    Farrand    1914-1919 

D           .   n-1       ■  I    1914-1917 

Bryant  Flemmg |  ^g,g_ 

„     ,       ^    ,     „   „  )   1914-19U; 

Herbert  J.   Kellaway   {  ig-^l- 

Charles   H.   Lcavitt   1912-1913 

Charles   N.   Lowrie   1920- 

Warren  H.,  Manning 1914-1916 

John   C.  Olmsted 1916-1919 

James  S.   Prav   1914-1922 

Albert  D.  Taylor 1920-1921 

Aubrey   Tealdi   1914-1922 

_              .      ,,..   ,  I   1912-1913 

Ferruccio   Vitale   <,  1916-1919 

(No  committee  served   during   1913) 

Entertainment — 1 911 

Raymond  W.   Aldrich   1922- 

Harold   H.   Blossom   1917. 

A.  F.  BrinckerhofF 1911-1916 

Frank  M.  Button 1913-1914 

Marian   C.   Coffin   1918-1919 

Noel  Chamberlain   1921-1922 

J.   Frederick  Dawson   1912-1916 


Clarence    Fowler    1921- 

Alfrcd   Geiffert   1917-1920 

T.  Glenn  Phillips 1921-1922 

Bremer  W.   Pond   1921. 

Rollin  Saltus 1911-1916 

Thomas   H.  Sears 1911-1914 

R.   Schermerhorn,  Jr. 1915-1917 

Fletcher  Steele 1916-1921 

...      ^  „    „     ,  (  1911-1912 

Albert  D.  Taylor 1  1918-1920 

,,     ,                ,  (   1915-1916 

Lormg  Underwood <  ,„„. 

Downing  Vaux 1911-1912 

Robert   Wheelwright    1912-1914 

Exhibitions — 1917 

E.   O.   Blair   1917-1919 

Frank  M.  Button 1917-1919 

Harold  A.  Caparn 1920-1921 

Noel  Chamberlain 1917-1919 

Stephen  Child 1917-192:i 

Gilmore  D.   Clarke   1917-1919 

Marian   C.   Coffin   1917-1921 

Wilbur  D.  Cook,  Jr. 1917-1919 

Laurie   D.   Cox   1917-1919 

Ailing  S.  DeForest 1917-1919 

Thomas  H.  Desmond 1917-1919 

Herbert   L.   Blaney   1917-1919 

Arthur   C.   Comey   1921, 

Philip   H.   Elwood.  Jr.   1917-1919 

Frederick  N.   Evans   1917-1919 

Brvant   Fleming   1917-1919 

S. 'H.   Hare   1917-1919 

E.   H.   Herminghaus   1917-1919 

Henry   V.    Hubbard    1917-1919 

Theodora    Kimball    1921. 

Charles   N.   Lowrie   1922- 

Irvin    I.  McCrary 1917-1919 

I.   H.   McFarland   1917-1919 

„„,,.,  /  1917-1919 

E.  T,  Mische -i  -lat--). 

»     .1             IT    nr        II  I  1917-1919 

.^nthony  U.  Morell <  19'''>- 

I.    P.    Munson    1917-1919 

.Arthur    R.    Nichols   1917-1919 

lohii    Nolen    1922- 

lohn    Noyes    1917-1921 

R.  A.  Outhet 1917-1919 

W.  W.  Parce 1917-1919 

C.    R.    Parker   1917-1919 

„     „,           „,  .,,.  (  1917-1919 

T,   Glenn    Phillips   -j  19''''- 

William  Pitkin,    Tr. 1917-1919 

C.  A.  Piatt 1917-1919 

Bremer   W.    Pond    1917-1919 

Charles   Punchard,  Jr. 1917-1919 

Charles  M.  Robinson 1917. 

A.  G.  Rotch 1917-1919 

George  L.  Nason 1917-1919 


20 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


T.   W.  Sears  1917-1919 

F.  A.  C.  Smith 1917-1919 

Sibley  C.  Smith 1917-1919 

Fletcher  Steele 1917-1920 

Albert  D.  Taylor 1917-1919 

Aubrey   Tealdi    1917-1919 

R.  M.  Weinrichter 1917-1919 

Robert  Wheelwright    1917-1919 

E.  C.  Whiting  1921. 

R.   H.   Wilcox 1917-1919 

W.  O.  Roy 1917-1919 

National  Parks  and  Forests — 1916 

Stephen  Child 1915-1917 

Laurie  D.   Cox   1920- 

Philip  H.   Elwood 1921- 

Percival    Gallagher   1915-1919 

Henry  V.  Hubbard 1918- 

Warren   H.   Manning   1915-1919 

Irvin  J.    McCrary    1918. 

F.  L.   Olmsted   1920- 

James   S.   Pray   1920- 

Charles   P.   Punchard 1920. 

Harris   A.   Reynolds   1915-1921 

Arthur  A.  Shurtleff 1919-1921 

Professional  Practice  and  Ethics — 1916 

A.   F.   Brinckerhoff 1915-1917 

Harold  A.  Caparn 1915-1917 

Stephen  Child 1915-1917 

Wilbur  D.  Cook,   Ir. 1921- 

Thomas   H.   Desmond   1921- 

Beatrix  Farrand 1915-1917 

Bryant   Fleming 1915-1917 

Percival    Gallagher    1915-1917 

James  L.  Greenleaf 1915-1917 

Henry  V.  Hubbard 1921- 

,T     ,           T     T^   ,,  /  1915-1917 

Herbert  J.    Kellaway   -J  jqoq. 

Warren   H.   Manning   1915-1916 

f  1917 
Arthur   R.   Nichols  11921-1922 

John    C.    Olmsted    1916-1918 

"James  S.   Pray   1917-1919 

Charles  H.   Ramsdell 1915-1917 

Ossian  C.  Simonds 1915-1917 

Fletcher    Steele    1915-1917 


.,,,_,„,  j   1915-1917 

Albert  D.  Taylor 1  1919-1923 

_,     ,        ,,,  (  1915-1916 

Phelps   Wyman   1  1920- 

Publicity— 1916 

A.  F.  Brinckerhoff 1915-1919 

Frank  M.  Button 1916-1919 

TT       ij    A     r-  /  1915-1919 

Harold   A.   Caparn   ■!  1991. 

Stephen  Child 1916-1919 

Wilbur  D.  Cook,  Jr. 1916-1919 

Laurie  D.   Cox 1920. 

Thomas  H.  Desmond 1916-1919 

Frederick  N.   Evans   1921-1922 

Bryant  Fleming 1916-1919 

S.  J.  Hare 1916-1919 

Herbert  J.   Kellaway   1921-1922 

J.   Gilbert   Langdon 1920-1922 

Irvin    I.    McCrary    1916-1920 

Emanuel  T.   Mische   1916-1919 

R.  A,  Outhet 1916-1919 

C.   R.   Parker 1916-1919 

T.  Glenn  Phillips 1916-1919 

Tohn   Noyes 1916-1919 

Charles   H.   Ramsdell   1915-1919 

Charles  M.   Robinson 1916-1917 

R.  Schermerhorn,  Jr.   1922. 

Sibley  C.  Smith   1916-1919 

Fletcher  Steele 1915-1920 

Albert  D.  Taylor 1916-1919 

Loring    Underwood    1915-1919 

Robert   Wheelwright    1920- 

Phelps    Wyman    1915-1932 

Relations  with  Trades— 1917 

Gordon   D.   Cooper   1920-1921 

Frederick   T.   Dawson 1920-1921 

Ailing  S.  DeForest 1922- 

Herbert   L.   Flint 1922- 

James   L.    Greenleaf   1917-1921 

Emanel  T.  Mische 1922- 

F.   L.   Olmsted   1917- 

C.  F.  Pilat 1921- 

Charles  H.  Ramsdell '- 1917- 

Ferruccio    Vitale    1917-1921 

Phelps  Wyman    1917-1919 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


21 


TREASURER'S  ACCOUNT 


1909 

Cash   on    hand   Jan.    1 $    638.76 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Dues    $    410.00 

Interest  on  check  account 13.01 

Total    receipts    $    423.01 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31 : 

President's    account    $        9.56 

Secretary's   account    225.67 

Treasurer's   account    11.80 

Miscellaneous    account    58.32 

Total   expenditures $    305.35 

Current    balance    117.66 

Balance  on  deposit  Dec.  31 $    756.42 

1910 

Cash  on  hand  Jan   1 $    756.42 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Dues    $    377.10 

Interest     11.85 

Total    receipts    $    388.95 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Secretary's   account    $    199.53 

Treasurer's   account   11.90 

Miscellaneous    account    63.68 

"Landscape    Architecture"    --      124.00 

Total   expenditures $    399.11 

Current   deficit    10.16 

Balance  on  deposit  Dec.  31 $    746.26 

1911 

Cash  on   hand  Jan.  1   $    746.26 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Dues     $    526.50 

Interest     17.62 

Total    receipts    $    544.12 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

President's    account    $      44.30 

Secretary's   account    157.77 

Treascurers   account    11.55 


Examining    Board    5.30 

Miscellaneous     49.50 

Total   expenditures   $    268.42 

Current    balance    275.70 

Balance  on  deposit  Dec.  31 $1,021.96 

181S 

Cash  on  hand  Jan.  1  $1,021.96 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Back  dues   $  30.00 

Current    dues    380.15 

Interest    15.47 

Sale  of  transactions 5.50 

Landscape   Architecture    47.50 

Dinner   receipts    95.69 

Total  receipts $  574.31 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

President's    account    $  3.90 

Secretary's    account    234.81 

Treasurer's  account   10.80 

Book  of  Transactions   829.59 

Dinner   meetings   118.95 

Miscellaneous   24.40 

Total   expenditures    $1,222.45 

Current   deficit   648.14 

Balance  on  deposit  Dec.  31 $    373.83 

1913 

Cash  on  hand  Jan.   1 $    373.82 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Back    dues    $  55.05 

Current    dues    520.30 

Interest     6.53 

Dinner   receipts    101.75 

Sale  of  Transactions 39.35 

Total  receipts $    722.98 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

President's    account    $      31.18 

Secretary's   account    285.12 

Treasurer's  account    1.00 

Book  of  Transactions 27.94 


22 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


Dinner   meeting 
Miscellaneous 


209.16 
55.73 


Total   expenditures   $    610.13 

Current    balance    112.85 


Balance  on  deposit  Dec.  31 $    486.67 


1914 

Cash   on    hand   Jan.   1   $    486.67 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Back  dues   $  15.00 

Current    dues    465.00 

Interest     16.57 

Sale  of  Transactions 14.00 


Total    receipts    $  510.57 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31 : 

Secretary's    account    $  523.71 

Treasurer's   account    35.63 

Dinner  meeting   83.13 

Book  of  Transactions   5.00 

Printing  and   supplies   101.45 


Total   expenidtures $    748.92 

Current   deficit    238.35 


Balance  on  deposit  Dec.  31 $    248.32 

1915 

Cash  on  hand  Jan.   1   $    249.32 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Back  dues  $  70.00 

Current  dues 540.00 

Interest     9-49 

Sale  of  Transactions   3.75 

Miscellaneous   6.60 


Total  receipts $  639.84 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

President's   account    $  73.73 

Secretary's    account    278.99 

Treasurer's   account   25.00 

Examining   B.   account    11.40 

Miscellaneous   30.52 

Old    debt    429.69 


Total   expenditures    $    849.33 

Current  deficit   219.49 


1916 

Cash  on  hand  Jan.   1 $      28.83 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Dues    $  635.00 

Admissions  and  advancements  90.00 

Interest     12.67 

Sale  of  Transactions   6.00 

For  old  bills 120.00 

Miscellaneous      19.70 


Total  receipts $    883.37 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31 : 

President's   account    $    166.26 

Secretary's    account    581.61 

26.86 
54.41 
58.43 
15.25 
42.19 
100.00 


Treasurer's   account   

Honorarium    secretary    

Examining   Board 

Entertainment   Committee   — 

Miscellaneous     

Old    debts    


Total  receipts $1,045.01 

Current   deficit   


Deficit  Dec.  31 $    132.81 

1917 

Deficit  Jan.   1   $    132.81 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Dues    $  655.00 

Adm.  and  advancement 30.00 

Interest     16.37 

Sale   of  Transactions 13.75 

Dinner   meeting 22.68 

Old    debts    25.00 


Total  receipts   $  762.80 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31 : 

President's    account    $  169.65 

Secretary's    account    281.38 

Treasurer's   account   54.50 

Examining  Board  account  —  43.15 

Miscellaneous     12.94 

Expense   of   incorporation    —  100.00 


Total   expenditures   $    661.62 

Current    balance    


Deficit  Dec.  31 $      31.63 


-$      31.63 


Balance $      28.83 


Deficit   Jan.    1    

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


23 


Dues     $  955.66 

Adm.   and  advancement   40.00 

Interest     17.46 

Sale  of  Transactions   2.00 

Profit  from  sale  of  "Repton"-  13.65 

Fund  to  remove  old  deficit  --  57.00 

Total    receipts    $1,085.77 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

President's   account    $    111.02 

Secretary's    account    230.55 

Secretary's   Honorarium    100.00 

Treasurer's   account   61.73 

Examining  Board  account  —        32.70 

Entertainment    Committee 00.00 

Incidentals     00.00 

Total  expenditures    $    536.00 

Current    balance    549.77 

Balance  on  deposit  Dec.  31 $    518.14 

1919 
Cash  on  hand  Jan.  1 $    518.14 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Dues    $1,690.20 

Adm.   and   advancement    70.00 

Interest     21.78 

Fund  to  remove  old  deficit —      150.00 

Sale  of  Transactions 5,75 

Surplus     from     Entertainment 

Committee     13.19 

Unidentified   check   75.00 

Total    receipts    $2,025.92 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31 : 

President's    account    $    439.93 

Secretary's  account  ($250.00  in 

1918  account)    282.50 

Treasurer's   account    102.92 

Examining  Board  account  —        24.58 
Incidentals     82.67 

Total    receipts    $    932.60 

Current  balance 1,093.32 

Balance  on  deposit $1,611.46 

1920 

Cash  on  hand  Jan.   1   $1,611.46 

Receipts,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 

Dues    $1,945.10 

Adm.   and   advancement 120.00 

Interest     25.01 

Sale    professional    circulars —        76.45 


Copies  of  resolutions 3.00 

Special   committee   funds 86.00 

Pitkin   fund   100.00 

Total    receipts    $2,355.56 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31 : 

President's    account    $    155.97 

Secretary's   account    704.14 

Treasurer's   account    128.88 

Examining   Board  accounts  --      131.28 

Printing   and   supplies   496.47 

Miscellaneous   (see  note) 1,240.46 

Committee    on    Monenclature-        36.00 

Pitkin  account 25.68 

Reserve    fund    544.52 

Total   expenditures   $3,463.40 

Current    deficit     1,107.84 

Balance  on  deposit   Dec.   31    $    503.62 

Note — Of   this    total    $1,146.51    was    used    to 
pay  old   accounts. 

1921 

Cash  on   hand  Jan.   1,   1921 $    503.62 

Receipts.  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31: 
Back   dues   $    165.00 

Admission    fees    230.00 

Advancement  fees 40.00 

Current    dues    1,685.10 

Interest  on  check  account 14.72 

Sale    professional    statements-  117.96 

Sale  of  proceedings 2.00 

Special   Committee  fund 5.00 

Exhibition   Committee 113.50 

Boston  Dinner  Committee 65.30 

For  traveling  exhibit  now  be- 
ing prepared   50.00 

Total    receipts    $2,488.58 

Printing  and   supplies   370.52 

Expenditures,  Jan.  1  to  Dec.  31 : 

President's    account    $  107.70 

Secretary's   account    721.79 

Treasurer's   account    153.94 

Examining    Board   account    —  148.23 

Miscellaneous   540.68 

Pitkin   account   75.60 

Reserve   fund    212.00 

Traveling   exhibit    50.00 

Total   expenditures   $2,440.46 

Current    balance    48.12 

On    deposit    $    551.74 


24  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 

BALANCE  SHEET  AS  OF  DECEMBER  31,  1921 

ASSETS: 

Dues  and   Admission   Fees  for  1920-1921  unpaid    $    335.00 

Cash  on  deposit  Old  Colony  Trust  551.74 

Cash  on  deposit  Reserve  Fund  792.93 


Total  Assets $1,679.67 

LIABILITIES: 

Unpaid  accounts None 

Special  Committee  Funds   $     55.00 

Surplus  December  31,  1921  1,624.67 


Total $1,679.67 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


25 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 
OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 

1909    TO     1921     INCLUSIVE 


January  12,  1909.  The  tenth  annual  meeting 
and  dinner  at  the  Transportation  Club,  New 
York   City. 

Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Miss  Jones.  Messrs. 
Brinley,  Caparn,  Chamberlain,  Dow,  Fleming, 
Grcenleaf,  Gay,  Gatringer,  Kennard,  Lay, 
Leavitt,  Lowrie,  Negus,  Parsons,  Fitz-Ran- 
dolph,  Roy,  Underbill,  Vitale,  Vaux.  Guests: 
Mr.  Charles  Mulford  Robinson,  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y.,  and  Dean  Herinan  Schneider. 

Mr.  Robinson  read  a  paper  on  "Beauty  for 
Playgrounds."  Dean  Schneider  spoke  of  the 
work  of  Cincinnati  University  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  short  talks  by  Messrs.  Caparn, 
Greenleaf,  Parsons  and  Leavitt. 

Reports  of  the  treasurer  and  secretary  were 
read  and  accepted.  The  officers  for  the  en- 
suing year  were  elected.     (See  list.) 

February  2,  1909.  Meeting  and  dinner  at  the 
Transportation    Club,    New   York   City. 

Present:  Messrs.  BrinckerhoflF,  DeForest, 
Fleming,  Greenleaf,  Lay,  Lowrie,  Morell,  Par- 
sons, Underbill,  Vaux,  Vitale. 

Mr.  DeForest  read  a  paper,  "The  Landscape 
.Architect  and  His  Client." 

February  23,  1909.  Meeting  and  dinner  at 
the   Parker   House,   Boston. 

Present:  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Gallagher,  Hub- 
bard, Kellaway,  Kennard,  Lay,  Lowrie,  Man- 
ning, Negus,  Nolen,  Parker,  Pray,  Sears, 
ShurtlefY,  Taylor.  Vaux.  and  Mr.  H.  E.  Mil- 
lard, guest. 

Professor  Pray  spoke  on  the  course  in  Land- 
scape Architecture  at  Harvard,  and  Mr.  Nolen 
on   the   State  Parks  of  Wisconsin. 

Mr.  Manning  reported  for  the  Committee  on 
Improving  the  Quality  of  Nursery  Stock.  This 
was  followed  by  considerable  discussion.  Mr. 
Nolen  spoke  on  "Greater  Publicity  for  the 
Work  and  Actions  of  the  Society,"  and  a  Com- 
mittee on  Publicity  consisting  of  one  person, 
Mr.   H.   V.   Hubbard,  was   appointed. 

March  16,  1909.  Meeting  and  dinner  at  the 
Transportation  Club,  New  York  City. 


Present:  Miss  Jones,  Messrs.  BrinckerhoflF, 
Caparn,  Gay,  Greenleaf,  Hubbard,  Lay, 
Leavitt,  Lowrie,  Olmsted,  Saltus,  Sears,  Un- 
derbill, Vaux,  Vitale. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Education  read 
and  approved  and  the  resolutions  in  regard  to 
co-operation  between  the  Society  and  such  in- 
stitutions as  may  desire  aid  in  organizing  pro- 
fessional courses  were  passed. 

Voted:  That  the  Committee  on  Education 
be  made  a  permanent  committee  with  such 
membership  and  term  of  office  as  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  may  decide.  (The  Executive 
Committee  voted  that  the  chair  appoint  a  per- 
manent committee  of  seven  on  education.  The 
term  was  not  decided). 

Voted:  That  a  committee  of  three  be  ap- 
pointed to  co-operate  with  Columbia  Uni- 
versity in  the  establishment  of  a  professional 
course  and  that  the  Society  express  its  ap- 
preciation of  the  work  of  such  a  committee  by 
an  honorarium  of  $300,  to  be  equally  divided 
between  the  members  of  said  committee. 
(Though  vote  was  passed,  the  honorarium  was 
not   accepted   and   never   paid.) 

Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  spoke  of  the  movement 
now  on  foot  to  place  a  new  building  in  Central 
Park,  on  the  site  of  the  old  arsenal,  for  the 
National  Academy  of  Design. 

Voted:  To  publicly  oppose  this  movement, 
and  Messrs.  Leavitt,  Lowrie  and  Hubbard  ap- 
pointed as  committee  on   same. 

Miss  Jones  read  a  paper  on  "Rock  Gardens." 

January  11,  1910.  Eleventh  annual  meeting 
and  dinner,  Transportation  Club,  New  York 
City. 

Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Miss  Jones,  and 
Messrs.  Brinckerhofl,  Caparn,  Dow,  Greenleaf, 
Kennard,  Lay,  Leavitt,  Lowrie,  Olmsted, 
Schermerborn,  Underbill,  Vaux  and  Vitale. 
Mr.  Robert  Wheelwright,  guest. 

Officers  for  the  ensuing  year  were  elected, 
and  reports  of  various  committees  read  and 
accepted. 

No  new  members  were  admitted  during  1909. 


26 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


February  8,  1910.  Dinner  and  meeting  at  the 
Hotel  Victoria,  Boston. 

Present:  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Auten,  Gallagher, 
Hubbard,  Kellaway,  Kennard,  Lay,  Leavitt, 
Manning,  Negus,  Nolen,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Sears, 
Shurtleff,  Taylor,  Underbill,  Vaux  and  Vitale. 
Guests:  Messrs.  George  R.  Wadsworth,  Smith 
and  McKechnie. 

Mr.  Kennard  presented  a  loving  cup  to 
Downing  Vaux,  who  gave  a  short  talk  on  the 
past  history  of  the  society. 

Voted:  To  accept  the  proposition  of  Messrs. 
Lay,  Hubbard  and  Wheelwright  regarding  the 
publishing  of  a  magazine. 

Committee  on  a  seal  reported  progress  and 
there  followed  discussion  of  detail  and  char- 
acter of  design. 

Messrs.  Leavitt,  Lay  and  Nolen  appointed 
as  a  committee  to  consider  change  in  name  of 
society. 

Mr.  Wadsworth  spoke  on  "Railroad  Termin- 
als," and  Mr.  Shurtleff  on  the  "Plans  for 
Chicago  and  Boston";  a  general  discussion  on 
city   planning  followed. 

March  8,  1910.  Meeting  and  dinner.  Trans- 
portation Club,  New  York. 

Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Miss  Jones,  Messrs. 
Brinley,  Caparn,  Greenleaf,  Hubbard,  Lay, 
Lowrie,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Parsons,  Saltus,  Sears, 
Underbill,  Vaux  and  Wheelwright.  Guests: 
Percy  MacKaye,  Calvin  Tompkins. 

A  resolution  was  passed  against  the  ratifi- 
cation of  a  plan  to  sell  a  quarter  of  City  Hall 
Park  as  a  building  lot. 

Voted:  That  the  president  appoint  a  com- 
mittee of  three,  Messrs.  Caparn,  Greenleaf  and 
Vitale,  to  attend  the  hearing  on  the  above  sub- 
ject and  present  the  resolutions. 

Voted:  That  the  society  accept  the  invita- 
tion and  take  the  necessary  steps  to  affiliate 
itself  with  the  American  Federation  of  Arts 
and  appoint  a  delegate  to  attend  the  conven- 
tion. 

Mr.  MacKaye  spoke  on  the  "People's 
Theatre  in  Relation  to  the  Civic  Plan";  Mr. 
Tompkins,  Commissioner  of  Docks  and  Fer- 
ries, New  York,  on  "New  York  and  the  De- 
velopment of  the  Water  Front";  Mr.  Caparn 
on  "Water  Fronts,  Their  Possibilities  for  Use 
and  Beauty." 

December  6,  1910.  Meeting  at  Transporta- 
tion Club,  New  York  City. 

Present:  Messrs.  Brinckerhoff,  Lay,  Lowrie, 
Parsons,  Sears  and  Wheelwright.  Guest:  Mr. 
Morse. 


There  being  no  quorum  no  business  was 
transacted. 

Mr.  Lowrie  showed  and  discussed  the  plans 
for  the  West  Hudson  Park,  Hudson  County, 
New  Jersey. 

January  10,  1911.  Twelfth  annual  meeting 
and  dinner.  Transportation  Club,  New  York 
City. 

Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Miss  Jones,  Messrs. 
Caparn,  Hubbard,  Lay,  Leavitt,  Lowrie,  No- 
len, F.  L.  Olmsted,  Parsons,  Saltus,  Sears, 
Vaux,  Wheelwright.  Guests:  Mrs.  Leavitt, 
Mr.   Frederick  C.   Howe. 

Officers  of  the  society  were  elected  for  the 
ensuing  year. 

Annual  reports  of  various  committees  were 
read  and  accepted,  including  one  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Editing  Transactions. 

Resolutions  were  adopted  regarding  the 
publishing  of  the  magazine  "Landscape  .Archi- 
tecture." 

Voted:  That  the  Executive  Committee  be 
authorized  to  express  the  views  of  the  society 
to  the  Board  of  Estimate  and  Apportionment 
regarding  the  creation  of  a  commission,  for 
the  purpose  of  planning  the  city  and  its  sub- 
urbs in  anticipation  of  their  growth. 

Mr.  Howe  gave  a  talk  illustrated  with  lan- 
tern slides  on  "German  City  Planning." 

February  7,  1911.  Meeting  and  dinner. 
Transportation   Club,  New  York  City. 

Present:  Messrs.  Caparn,  Greenleaf,  Lay, 
Lowrie,  Parsons,  Pray,  Saltus,  Sears.  Vaux, 
Wheelwright.  Guest:  Mr.  William  M.  Elli- 
cott,    Architect,   Baltimore,    Maryland. 

Lacking  a  quorum  no"  business  was  trans- 
acted. 

Mr.  EUicott  spoke  on  "National  Parks  in 
Maryland." 

March  21,  1911.  Meeting  and  dinner.  Hotel 
Victoria,  Boston,  Mass. 

Present:  Messrs.  Brinckerhoff,  Caparn,  Daw- 
son, Gallagher,  Hubbard,  Kennard,  Kellaway, 
Lay,  Manning,  Movius,  Negus,  F.  L.  Olm- 
sted, Pray,  Pilat,  Shurtleff,  Saltus,  Sears,  Si- 
monds,  Taylor,  Vitale  and  Wheelwright.  Guests : 
Dr.  Charles  Eliot,  Messrs.  Sibley  C.  Smith, 
E.  Jackson,  Punchard,  Parker.  Turner  and  G. 
Gibbs,  Jr. 

Voted:  To  accept  the  resolutions  of  the 
Committee  on   Education. 

Voted:  To  authorize  the  Executive  Commit- 
tee to  appoint  a  committee  to  look  into  and 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


report  on  the  matter  of   placing  public   build- 
ings in  parks. 

Mr.  Manning  read  a  report  on  the  "Stand- 
ing of  our  Profession  in  Relation  to  the  Pub- 
lic and  Other  Professions."  Mr.  G.  A.  Parker, 
a  paper  on  the  "Value  of  Park  Reports." 
President  Eliot  spoke  on  "Welfare  and  Hap- 
piness  in   Works   of   Landscape   Architecture." 

December  12,  1911.  Meeting  and  dinner. 
Transportation  Club,  New  York. 

Present:  Messrs,  Brinckerhoff,  Caparn, 
Greenleaf,  Hubbard,  Lay,  Leavitt,  Lowrie, 
Manning,  J.  C.  Olmsted,  Parsons,  Pilat,  Roj', 
Underbill,  Vitalc  and  Wheelwright.  Guest: 
Mr.  Thomas  H.  Mawson. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Education  read  and 
accepted  and  copies  ordered  sent  to  interested 
parties. 

Mr.  Mawson  spoke  on  the  difference  be- 
tween the  standing  of  the  profession  of  land- 
scape architecture  in  this  country  and  in  Eng- 
land. 

A  letter  was  read  from  the  A.  I.  A.  regard- 
ing the  proposed  Lincoln  Memorial  in  Wash- 
ington; Mr.  Manning  was  appointed  to  con- 
sider this  question  with  authority  to  act. 

January  9,  1912.  Thirteenth  annual  meeting 
and  dinner.  Transportation  Club,  New  York 
City. 

Present:  Miss  Jones,  Messrs.  Brinckerhoff, 
Caparn,  Gay,  Greenleaf,  Lay,  Lowrie,  Parsons, 
Underbill  and  Wheelwright.  Guest:  Mr. 
Charles  A.   Piatt. 

Following  the  election  of  officers  for  the  en- 
suing year  and  the  appointment  of  commit- 
tees, Mr.  Piatt  spoke  on  "Collaboration  be- 
tween the  Architect  and  the  Landscape  Archi- 
tect " 

February  20,  1912.  Meeting  and  dinner. 
Hotel   Victoria,  Boston. 

Present:  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Caparn,  DeForest, 
Gallagher,  Hubbard,  Kellaway,  Kennard,  Man- 
ning. -Movius,  Nolen,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Phillips, 
Sears,  Shurtleflf  and  Taylor.  Guests:  Messrs. 
F.  H.  Bourne,  H.  L.  Flint,  F.  H,  Gott,  W.  H. 
Punchard,  A.  G.  Rotch,  S.  C.  Smith,  B.  A. 
Tripp  and  Loring  Underwood,  James  Ford, 
J.   Randolph  Coolidge. 

Subject  of  the  Lincoln  Memorial  was  dis- 
cussed and  it  was 

Voted:  To  approve  the  report  by  Glenn 
Brown  on  the  subject. 

Mr.  Ford  spoke  on  the  "Housing  Problem" 
and   Mr.   Coolidge  on  the  "Mandate  from  the 


State  of  Massachusuetts  to  Consider  and  Re- 
port on  the  Problem  of  Metropolitan  Planning 
for  the  Metropolitan  Park  System  around 
Boston."  Mr.  Shurtleflf  spoke  on  the  "Boston 
Zoological  Garden." 

March  19,  1912.  Meeting  and  dinner,  Trans- 
l)ortation   Club,  New  York  City. 

Present:  Messrs.  BrinckerhofT,  Caparn,  Low- 
rie, Outhet,  Parsons,  Pilat,  Saltus  and  Vaux. 
Guests:  W.  Van  Ingen,  Professor  Hamlin,  A. 
S.   Boring,  President  Architectural   League. 

Voted:  That  a  committee  be  appointed  to 
arrange  a  meeting  of  the  society  and  the  pub- 
lic to  consider  the  question  of  Central  Park. 

Mr.  Van  Ingen  spoke  on  the  subject  of 
Central  Park  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
painter. 

November  12,  1912.  Meeting  and  dinner, 
Transportation   Club,  New  York  City. 

Present:  Messrs.  Brinckerhoflf,  Caparn. 
Greenleaf,  Lay,  Parsons,  Phillips,  Saltus  and 
Underbill. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Brinckerhoff  the  secretary 
was  instructed  to  send  a  letter  to  all  members 
of  the  society,  urging  them  to  enter  the  City 
Planning  Study,  conducted  by  the  National 
Conference  on  City  Planning. 

The  president  started  an  informal  discus- 
sion on  the  question  of  professional  practice 
and  charges,  which  developed  interesting  fea- 
tures. 

December  10,  1912.  Meeting  and  dinner, 
Transportation  Club,  New  York  City. 

Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Miss  Jones,  Messrs. 
Brinckerhoflf,  Caparn,  Greenleaf,  Lowrie,  Pen- 
tecost, Saltus  and  Weinrichter. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Editing  Transac- 
tions was  read. 

Voted:  That  a  copy  of  this  report  be  sent 
to  each  member  for  a  written  opinion,  the  re- 
port then  to  be  revised  to  correspond  with  the 
majority's  opinions. 

Voted:  That  the  president  bo  empowered  to 
appoint  a  Committee  to  Investigate  Ways  and 
Means  of  Organizing  and  Maintaining  an  Em- 
ployment Directory,  through  which  any  mem- 
ber of  the  society  may  obtain  information  as 
to   oflfice   assistants,   contractors,   etc. 

January  14,  1913.  Fourteenth  annual  dinner 
and  meeting.  Transportation  Club,  New  York 
City. 

Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Miss  Jones,  Messrs. 
Caparn,    Chamberlain,    Comey,    Dawson,    De- 


28 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


Forest,  Greenleaf,  Gallagher,  Hubbard,  Lay, 
Lowrie,  Manning,  Nolen,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Par- 
sons, Pentecost,  Phillips,  Pitkin,  Pray,  Saltus, 
Simonds,  Underbill,  Vaux,  Vitale  and  Wheel- 
wright. Guests:  Mrs.  Caparn,  Mrs.  Van 
Rensaleer,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Walter  Cook.  Mr. 
Haldenian,  Mr.  Walter  B.  Griffin,  Mr.  Fred- 
erick  Blakeman. 

The  president's  report  and  the  reports  of  the 
committees  for  the  year,  read  and  accepted. 

Mr.  Griffin  spoke  on  the  "Plans  for  a  Capital 
City  for  Australia." 

January  28,  1913.  Meeting  and  dinner. 
Transportation    Club,    New   York   City. 

Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Miss  Jones,  Messrs. 
Brinckerhofif,  Caparn,  Greenleaf,  Lowrie,  Par- 
sons, Pentecost  and  Vaux. 

Voted:  That  the  secretary  forward  to  the 
Executive  Committee  with  recommendation 
for  immediate  action  the  resolutions  adopted 
by  the  society,  regarding  the  repeal  of  the 
Tarsney  .'\ct.  (See  page  65.) 

After  discussion  in  regard  to  the  formation 
of  local  chapters  of  the  society,  it  was 

Voted:  That  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  authorize  its 
members  to  form  chapters  wherever  local  con- 
ditions seem  to  require  them,  provided  appli- 
cation be  made  in  due  form  to  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  society,  and  that 

1.  The  government  and  management  of  the 
chapter  be  subject  to  the  constitution  and  by- 
laws of  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 

2.  The  constitutions  of  the  chapters  and  all 
subsequent  amendments  be  approved  by  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 

3.  The  members  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  shall  be 
eligible  to  membership  in  the  local  chapters, 
and  all  members  in  the  local  chapters  shall  be 
passed  upon  by  the  Examining  Board  of  the 
A.  S.  L.  A. 

Officers   for  the  ensuing  year  were  elected. 

February  18,  1913.  Meeting  and  dinner, 
Hotel  Victoria,  Boston. 

Present:  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Brinckerhoff, 
Comey,  Dawson,  Hubbard,  Kellaway,  Kennard, 
Manning,  Nolen,  J.  C.  Olmsted,  Pray,  Sears. 
Shurtlefif,  Simonds,  Smith,  Steele,  Taylor, 
Wheelwright  and  Whiting.  Guests:  Messrs. 
D.  A.  Clark,  D.  M.  Call,  P.  S.  Snow,  R.  H. 
Pratt,  P.  H.  Haldeman,  Noyes,  Robinson, 
Flavel  Shurtlefif,  Philip  Sharpies,  Rablin,  Dem- 
arest  and  Professor  G.  E.  Swain. 

The  Executive  Committee  reported  the 
recommendation  that  a  committee  be  appoint- 
ed to  suggest  such  modification  of  the  consti- 


tution and  by-laws  as  would  permit  the  or- 
ganization of  local  chapters. 

Professor  Swain  spoke  as  the  representative 
of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers; 
Mr.  Flavel  Shurtlefl  on  the  subject  of  "Excess 
Condemnation";  Mr.  Sharpies  on  "Road  Sur- 
faces," illustrating  his  talk  with  lantern  slides; 
Mr.  Rablin  on  "Good  Roads";  Mr.  Demarest 
on  "The  Development  of  Long  Island." 

Mr.  Simonds  gave  an  interesting  talk  on 
topics  of  general  interest  and  Mr.  Nolen  spoke 
on   the   "City   Planning   Committee." 

May  8,  1913.  Meeting  and  dinner.  Hotel  La 
Salle,  Chicago,  111. 

Present:  Messrs.  Button.  Comey,  Hare,  Lol- 
lesgaard.  Manning.  Munson,  Nolen,  J.  C.  Olm- 
sted, Phillips,  Simonds,  Tealdi,  Wyman. 
Guests:  Eugene  Davenport,  W.  M.  R.  French, 
Wilhelm  Miller,  Arthur  S.  Lewis,  Jacob  Prost, 
Allen  Bartlett,  C.  C.  Cone,  Walter  B.  Griffin, 
Howard  Smith,  Walter  E.  Sunderman,  H.  Roy 
West,  Alfred  B.  Yeomans,  H.  D.  Grubb. 

Mr.  French  spoke  of  his  early  work  with  H. 
W.  S.  Cleveland,  and  Mr.  J.  C.  Olmsted  on 
the  general  education  of  young  men  in  land- 
scape architecture.  Mr.  Nolen  made  some  in- 
teresting points  in  regard  to  the  profession, 
its  future  prospects  and  what  should  be  done  to 
uphold  the  standards.  Mr.  Davenport  and  Mr. 
Tealdi  described  the  work  and  courses  at  the 
University  of  Illinois  and  the  University  of 
Michigan  respectively;  Prof.  Miller  discussed 
University  Extension  Work  in  the  general  field 
of  landscape  gardening. 

December  9,  1913.  Meeting  and  dinner. 
Transportation   Club,  New  York  City. 

Present:  Miss  Jones,  Messrs.  Brinckerhofif, 
Caparn,  Gay,  Gibbs,  Greenleaf,  Lay,  Lowrie, 
Manning,  J.  C.  Olmsted,  Parsons,  Pentecost, 
Pilat,  Simonds  and  Vitale.  Guest:  Mr.  Gil- 
more   D,   Clarke. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Amend- 
ments was  read  and  discussed  and  it  was 

Voted:  That  the  final  amendments  to  the 
constitution  be  submitted  at  the  February 
meeting. 

The  Executive  Committee  reported  their  re- 
fusal to  accept  the  resignation  of  Downing 
Vaux.  and  he  was  made  a  life  member. 

January  13,  1914.  Fifteenth  annual  dinner 
and  meeting,  Transportation  Club,  New  York 
City. 

Present:  Mrs.  Farrand,  Messrs.  Blossom, 
Brinckerhoff,      Caparn,      DeForest,     Desmond, 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


29 


Fleming,  Grcenleaf,  Gay,  Hubbard,  Lay, 
Leavitt,  Lowrie.  Manning,  Pentecost,  Pilat, 
Pitkin,  Saltus,  Simonds,  Underbill  and  V'itale. 
Guests:  Mrs.  Lay  and  Mr.  Field. 

The  annual  reports  of  the  secretary  and 
treasurer  were  read  and  accepted,  and  the 
officers  for  the  ensuing  year  elected. 

President  Manning  made  a  short  address  in 
which  he  referred  to  the  organization  of  chap- 
ters, the  development  of  education  and  the  pro- 
tection of  our  Xational  Parks  as  important 
matters  coming  before  the  society  during  the 
new  year  as  well  as  the  general  subject  of 
greater  publicity. 

Mr.  Simonds  spoke  on  the  extension  work 
being  done  in  Illinois,  Wisconsin  and  Michi- 
gan and  emphasized  the  need  of  a  common 
name  for  the  profession;  Professor  Fleming 
described  the  work  being  done  at  Cornell  and 
Professor  Hubbard  the  courses  at  Harvard, 
also  advocating  a  longer  term  of  study. 

Mrs.  Farrand  discussed  the  opportunities  in 
the  profession  for  women. 

These  were  followed  by  a  general  discus- 
sion among  the  members  as  to  the  immediate 
needs  of  the  society  for  greater  recognition 
and  improvement  in  the  scope  of  influence  and 
effectiveness. 

Mr.  Pilat  spoke  on  "Memorial  Playgrounds." 

February  17,  1914.  Meeting  and  dinner. 
Hotel    Victoria,    Boston. 

Present:  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Brinckerhoflf,  Cap- 
arn.  Comey,  DeForest,  Desmond,  Gallagher, 
Hubbard,  Kellaway,  Manning,  Movius,  Nolen, 
J.  C.  Olmsted.  Pilat,  Pray,  Sears,  Smith, 
Steele,  Taylor.  L'nderwood,  Vitale  and  Whit- 
ing. Guests:  Messrs.  H.  A.  Reynolds,  C.  F. 
Gillette  and  F.  A.  Robinson. 

The  amended  constitution  and  by-laws  were 
adopted  by  a  two  third   majority. 

Professor  Pray  offered  six  motions  to  amend 
Article  VI,  "Chapters."  of  the  constitution  sub- 
ject to  confirmation  by  two-third  mail  ballot 
vote. 

Following  a  discussion  of  these  it  was  voted, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  Vitale,  that  no  geographical 
division  be  established  for  chapters  but  the 
matter  of  belonging  to  one  chapter  rather 
than  another  be  left  to  the  opinion  of  the  ap- 
plicant. 

Mr.  Vitale  presented  the  question  of  es- 
tablishing a  scholarship  in  landscape  architec- 
ture at  the  -American  Academy  in  Rome,  in  the 
name  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  He  explained  that 
this  scholarship  would  require  an  endowment 
of    $25,000    and    until    this    amount    could    be 


raised  the  society  would  have  to  guarantee  the 
payment  of  $1,000  a  year.  He  suggested  that 
annual  subscriptions  be  made  to  run  for  five 
year  periods  and  enthusiastic  discussion  fol- 
lowed and  immediate  action  was  urged.  On 
motion  of  Mr.  Brinckerhoff  it  was  voted  that 
a  special  committee  be  appointed  to  look  into 
the  methods  of  raising  funds  for  the  support 
of  a  scholarship  in  landscape  architecture  at 
the  .'\merican  .Academy  in  Rome,  and  a  sub- 
scrption  list  was  immediately  started  for  an- 
nual pledges  covering  five  j-ear  periods. 

Following  a  discussion  on  the  subject  of 
annual  dues,  now  the  chapters  are  being 
formed,  it  was  voted,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Taylor, 
that  the  question  of  dues  for  the  A.  S.  L.  A., 
and  the  Boston  chapter  be  referred  to  the 
Executive   Committee  for  their  consideration. 

Mr.  Harris  A.  Reynolds  then  spoke  on 
"State  Forests  for  Massachusetts." 

Mr.  Caparn  reported  on  the  hearing  he  at- 
tended in  Washington,  relative  to  the  federal 
control  of  Niagara  Falls.  Following  a  discus- 
sion of  this  report,  it  was  voted,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  Kellaway,  that  the  society  take  the  same 
stand  as  the  American  Civic  Association  has 
done  in  regard  to  the  preservation  of  Niagara 
Falls,  namely  that  no  more  water  be  diverted 
for  commercial  purposes. 

January  12,  1915.  Sixteenth  annual  meeting 
and  dinner  at  Hotel  Manhattan,  New  York 
City. 

Present:  Messrs.  Brinckerhoff,  Caparn, 
Chamberlain,  Cox,  Fleming,  Gallagher,  Gay, 
Greenleaf,  Hubbard,  Lay,  Lowrie,  Pentecost, 
Phillips,  Pilat,  Roach,  Saltus,  Taylor,  Vitale, 
Wheelwright.  Guests:  Honorable  George  Ca- 
bot Ward,  Commissioner  of  Parks,  Borough 
of  Manhattan;  Mr.  Gutzom  Borglum,  Sculptor; 
Professor  E.  G.  Davis,  Cornell  L'niversity. 

President  Manning  in  his  report  for  the  year, 
referred  to  policies  which  had  been  considered 
by  the  Executive  Committee  for  adoption  by 
the  society,  also  to  the  Lincoln  Memorial 
Highway,  to  Landscape  Extension  Work,  and 
to  the  desirability  of  a  professional  circular. 
He  also  urged  a  more  efficient  method  of  pub- 
licity, which  should  include  the  professional 
activities  of  members  as  well  as  that  part  of 
their  work  which  is  devoted  to  the  promotion 
of  the  public  welfare  without  the  expectation 
of  a  direct  return. 

The  secretary's  report  was  not  read  owing 
to  lack  of  time. 

The  treasurer  made  a  preliminary  report. 

Mr.    Vitale   reported   for   the   Committee   on 


30 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


Funds  for  the  scholarship  at  the  American 
Academy  in  Rome.  He  stated  that  the  tem- 
porary fund  for  five  years  was  now  available; 
and  that,  although  the  entire  fund  had  not 
been  subscribed  in  full,  the  American  Academy 
in  Rome  had  ofifered  to  underwrite  $200  and 
one  of  the  members  of  the  society  had  under- 
written another  $100  in  order  to  bring  the  total 
up  to  the  required  $1,300  and  be  able  to  pro- 
ceed with  the  establishment  of  the  scholarship 
with  the  authorities  of  the  Acaderny. 

Voted:  That  Mr.  Vitale  be  extended  the 
thanks  of  the  society. 

The  report  of  the  Examining  Board  was  read 
by  the  acting  secretary  as  well  as  a  special  re- 
port by  them  recommending  the  election  of 
Mr.  Charles  Mulford  Robinson  to  Associate 
Membership. 

Professor  James  S.  Pray,  chairman,  reported 
for  the  Committee  on  Education  stating  that 
the  most  important  subject  to  which  his  com- 
mittee has  been  devoting  its  time  and  thought 
was  the  determination  of  the  conditions  of 
the  Competition  for  the  Fellowship  in  Land- 
scape Architecture  now  established  by  the  so- 
ciety at  the  American  Academy  in  Rome.  On 
April  28,  1914,  at  the  recommendation  of  a 
special  committee  appointed  to  raise  funds  for 
the  establishment  of  this  Fellowship,  and  with 
the  approval  of  the  Executive  Committee,  the 
following  motions  were  put  to  vote  of  the 
Fellow  membership  and  subsequently  carried: 
1.  That  the  treasurer  be  instructed  to  es- 
talilish  two  funds  to  be  known  respectively  as 
the  General  Fund  and  the  Endowment  Fund 
of  the  Prize  of  Rome  in  Landscape  Architec- 
ture, to  receive  contributions  to  the  said  funds 
from  any  source,  and  to  make  payment  there- 
from to  the  trustees  of  the  American  Academy 
in  Rome  upon  the  following  considerations, 
viz: 

(a)  General  Fund  shall  be  applicable  first 
to  the  payment  of  the  annual  stipend  of  a 
fellowship  or  scholarship  in  landscape  archi- 
tecture at  the  American  Academy  in  Rome 
whenever  such  a  fellowship  or  scholarship 
shall  have  been  established  by  the  said  trustees 
under  conditions  satisfactory  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Education  of  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects,  and  so  long  as  it  is  so 
maintained;  second  to  the  payment  of  any  ex- 
penses properly  incidental  to  the  effective  es- 
tablishment and  administration  of  such  a  fel- 
lowship or  scholarship;  third  to  the  increase 
of  the  Endowment  Fund; 

(b)  The  Endovirment  Fund  shall  be  ap- 
plicable  only   for   investment   as   a   permanent 


endowment,  the  income  from  which  shall  be 
applicable  to  the  same  purpose  as  the  General 
Fund. 

2.  That  the  Committee  on  Education  be  in- 
structed, in  consultation  with  the  officers  of  the 
American  Academy  in  Rome,  to  draw  up  and 
to  publish  a  statement  of  the  conditions  under 
which  it  is  proposed  that  the  Prize  of  Rome 
in  Landscape  Architecture  shall  be  awarded 
and  administered,  and  to  draw  up  an  agree- 
ment to  be  submitted  for  approval  to  the  so- 
ciety and  to  the  trustees  of  the  American 
Academy  in  Rome  governing  the  award  and 
administration  thereof. 

3.  That  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  urges  upon  all  its  members 
and  upon  all  others  who  may  be  interested  in 
the  progress  and  welfare  of  the  art  of  land- 
scape architecture  in  this  country,  to  con- 
tribute liberally  to  a  Fellowship  in  Landscape 
Architecture  at  the  American  Academy  in 
Rome. 

4.  That  the  present  special  committee  to 
look  into  the  methods  of  raising  funds  to- 
gether with  the  secretary  and  treasurer  be  con- 
stituted a  Standing  Committee  on  Prize  of 
Rome  Funds  and  be  authorized  to  solicit  con- 
tributions to  those  funds  on  behalf  of  the 
society. 

The  report  states  that  the  normal  term  of 
residence  as  Fellow  in  Landscape  Architec- 
ture at  the  Academy  will  be  three  years  and 
the  stipend  $1,000  a  year,  a  new  Fellow  thus 
being  sent  to  Rome  normally  every  three 
years. 

The  jury  on  the  competition  in  Landscape 
Architecture  is  to  consist  of  three  Fellows  of 
the  American  Society  of-  Landscape  Architec- 
ture (one  of  whom  is  understood  to  be  the 
chairman  of  its  Committee  on  Education) 
nominated  by  the  Committee  of  the  School  of 
Fine  Arts  at  the  Academy  from  a  selected  list 
furnished  by  the  society;  and  three  other 
members  chosen  to  represent  the  other  arts  of 
architecture,  sculpture  and  painting.  Similar- 
ly on  the  juries  for  each  of  the  arts  of  archi- 
tecture, sculpture  and  painting,  there  is  to  be 
one  of  landscape  architecture. 

Thus,  landscape  architecture  is  placed  on 
precisely  the  same  footing  as  the  other  older 
arts  represented  by  Fellowship  in  the 
Academy. 

Interesting  chapter  reports  for  the  year  were 
given  by  Mr.  James  L.  Greenleaf,  president 
of  the  New  York  chapter,  and  by  Mr.  Galla- 
gher, in  the  absence  of  Professor  Pray,  for  the 
Boston   chapter.     After  the  report  of  the   tel- 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


31 


lers  and  the  election  of  the  officers  and  Execu- 
tive Committee  for  the  ensuing  year,  upon  mo- 
tion of  Mr.  Caparn,  the  retiring  president  and 
secretary,  Mr.  Manning  and  Mr.  DeForest, 
were  given  a  vote  of  thanks. 

The  meeting  was  addressed  by  the  Honor- 
able George  Cabot  Ward,  Commissioner  of 
Parks,  Borough  of  Manhattan,  who  spoke 
briefly  on  the  Park  Problem  in  New  York 
City,  and  also  by  Mr.  Gutzom  Borglum,  Sculp- 
tor, who  gave  an  admirable  talk  on  the  Re- 
lation of  an  Artist  to  his  Profession,  and 
Particularly  as  Applied  to  Landscape  Archi- 
tecture. These  addresses  were  followed  by 
discussion  on  the  part  of  the  members  pres- 
ent. 

Extracts  from  the  secretary's  report;  "Com- 
mon Names  for  the  Profession" — "The  result 
of  the  society  vote  on  the  list  of  names  sent 
out  at  the  request  of  President  Manning  un- 
der date  of  February,  3,  1914,  is  as  follows: 
Landscaper.  1;  Landscapist,  1;  Landscapor,  1; 
Landscape  Architect,  29;  Landscape  Designer, 
3;  Landscape  Engineer,  1;  Landscape  Artist, 
0;  Landscapeman,  0;  Landscape  Gardener,  1; 
Garden  Designer.  0;  while  this,  of  course,  com- 
mits no  one  to  the  adoption  of  another  name, 
it  will  be  a  matter  of  interest,  and  it  might 
help  to  an  ultimate  adoption  of  a  common 
name  for  the  profession." 

February  24,  1915.  Boston  annual  meeting 
and  dinner,  Boston  City  Club. 

Present;  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Blossom,  Brinck- 
erhoflf,  Comey,  Cox,  Dawson,  Gallagher, 
Gibbs,  Greenleaf,  Hubbard,  Kellaway,  Man- 
ning, Nolen,  J.  C.  Olmsted,  Parker,  W.  L. 
Phillips,  Reynolds,  Robinson,  Rotch,  Roy, 
Sears,  Shurtleff,  Smith,  Steele,  Underwood, 
Vitale,  Whiting.  Guests;  Flavel  Shurtleflf, 
Secretary  National  Conference  on  City  Plan- 
ning, and  Mr.  Wayne  E.  Stiles,  Mr.  B.  W. 
Pond,  Mr.  Hammond  S.  Sadler,  Mr.  H.  L. 
Whitney,  Mr.  Paul  Smith,  Mr.  L.  S.  Caldwell, 
Mr.  Rollins,  and  Mr.  Laughlin,  all  of  Boston. 
Also  at  the  meeting  following  the  dinner,  the 
Senior  Class  of  the  Harvard  School  of  Land- 
scape Architecture  were  present  as  guests: 
Herminghaus,  Johnston,  Morrison,  Nicolet, 
Norton,  Sturtevant,  Trout,  White. 

In  the  absence  of  the  secretary,  Mr.  Steele 
was  elected  as  secretary  pro  tem.  President 
Pray  referring  to  the  Committee  on  Educa- 
tion stated  that  the  Committee  of  the  School 
of  Fine  Arts  had  appointed  F.  L.  Olmsted, 
Mr.  Vitale  and  himself  as  a  jury  on  the  Fel- 
lowship   in    Landscape   Architecture    with    Mr. 


Fleming  to  serve  as  a  member  of  this  jury 
until  Mr.  Olmsted  was  able  to  attend  the 
meetings.  The  report  of  the  tellers  on  the 
mail  ballot  votes  was  read  and  accepted  and 
various  committees  appointed.  Mr.  Kellaway. 
President  of  the  Boston  Society,  welcomed 
the  members  to  that  city,  and  Mr.  Flavel 
Shurtleff  spoke  on  the  Landscape  Architect  in 
City  Planning.  The  president  read  a  letter 
written  by  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  to  Mr.  Allen 
Chamberlain  relative  to  the  distinction  be- 
tween a  National  Park  and  a  National  Forest, 
and  Mr.  Vitale,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Raising  Funds  for  the  Rome  Scholarship  re- 
ported on  the  work  done  by  his  committee. 
Mr.  Manning  gave  a  brief  description  of  his 
work  in  preparing  the  model  of  the  relief  map 
of  Massachusetts  which  is  to  be  sent  out  to 
the  Panama  Pacific  Exposition.  The  president 
then  introduced  Professor  Cox  of  Syracuse 
University  who  spoke  on  two  subjects,  "Pub- 
lic Service  as  a  Permanent  Career  for  the 
Landscape  Architect"  and  "The  Courses  in 
Landscape  Engineering  at  the  New  York  State 
College   of   Forestry." 

January  16,  1916.  Seventeenth  annual  meet- 
ing and  dinner,  Hotel  Manhattan,  New  York 
City. 

Present;  Mrs.  Farrand,  Messrs.  Brincker- 
hofif,  Caparn,  Dawson,  DeForest,  Fowler, 
Greenleaf,  Hubbard,  Lay,  Lowrie,  Manning,  J. 
C.  Olmsted,  T.  G.  Phillips,  Pray,  Saltus,  Smith. 
Tealdi,  Vaux,  Vitale,  Wheelwright. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  meeting  were  not 
read  as  they  had  been  sent  out  to  all  members 
of  the  society  through  the  secretary's  office 
and  as  the  same  would  be  true  of  the  secre- 
tary's report  for  the  year  it  was  voted  to  dis- 
pense with  the  reading  of  that  paper.  The 
report  of  the  treasurer  was  read  and  accepted 
as  was  that  of  the  Examining  Board.  Mr. 
Vitale  reported  for  the  Committee  on  Funds 
for  the  Fellowship  at  the  American  Academy 
in  Rome,  stating  that  $1,148.01  had  been  re- 
ceived for  the  permanent  fund  and  that  the 
temporary  fund  had  all  been  provided  for.  The 
report  of  the  tellers  on  the  mail  ballot  of  the 
society  held  during  the  year,  was  made  and 
approved.  Mr.  Caparn  brought  up  the  ques- 
tion of  a  seal  for  the  society  and  stated  that 
the  figure  of  Pan  had  been  suggested  to  him 
by  Mr.  Magonigal  as  appropriate  for  the  pro- 
fession. 

Voted:  That  the  matter  of  the  society's  seal 
be  referred  to  the  Executive  Committee. 

In  response  to  Mr.  Schermerhorn's  remarks 


32 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


relative  to  the  work  of  his  Committee  on  En- 
tertainment and  in  which  he  expressed  the 
opinion  that  more  time  should  be  given  the 
committee  in  planning  for  the  annual  meet- 
ing, and  that  at  least  six  public  speakers 
should  be  secured  in  order  that  the  meeting 
might  be  made  the  best  of  the  year,  the  presi- 
dent stated  that  the  Executive  Committee  had 
voted  at  its  morning  session  that  it  should  be 
the  duty  of  the  Entertainment  Committee  to 
recommend  and,  if  need  be,  to  provide  the 
speakers  at  all  meetings,  and  further  that  they 
be  required  to  submit  their  program  to  the 
Executive  Committee  for  approval  at  least  two 
months  in  advance  of  said  meetings.  Mr. 
Greenleaf  requested  that  the  secretary  be  in- 
structed to  notify  local  chapters  of  new  mem- 
bers elected  to  membership  in  their  district, 
and  it  was  the  sense  of  the  meeting  that  this 
should  be  done.  The  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Professional  Practice  and  Ethics,  Mr. 
Child,  chairman,  was  read  and  a  very  interest- 
ing discussion  ensued.  The  president  brought 
up  the  question  whether  the  meeting  should 
go  on  record  as  endorsing  different  methods 
of  charging,  and  it  was 

Voted:  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  meeting 
in  endorsing  as  many  methods  of  charging  as 
possible,  to  enable  each  member  to  select  a 
method  best  adapted  to  his  use. 

Voted:  That  the  society  endorses  a  percent- 
age charge,  a  time  charge,  a  unit  of  service 
charge,  a  lump  sum  method  and  a  unit  of 
area  method  of  charging. 

In  taking  up  the  preliminary  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Publicity,  President  Pray  ex- 
plained: 

"The  first  act  of  the  chairman  upon  appoint- 
ment was  to  send  to  each  committee  member 
for  comment,  a  statement  of  the  different 
methods  of  publicity  known  to  be  practiced  by 
the  members  of  the  society,  or  which  have 
been  recommended  for  the  purpose.  These 
methods  are: 

1.  Personal  solicitation  by   self  or  agent. 

2.  Business  cards  in  magazines  or  papers. 

3.  Business  circulars. 

4.  Literary  civic  or   social   activity. 

5.  Placing  the  words,  "American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects"  on  stationery  or 
other  literature. 

6.  Placing  on  stationery  a  few  words  de- 
scriptive of  the  profession  in  addition  to  the 
term  landscape  architect  or  its  synonym. 

7.  Posting  a  sign  on  work  under  construc- 
tion, giving  the  name  and  address  of  the  prac- 
titioner. 


8.  Publicising  the  society  or  a  chapter  by 
an  advertising  page  in  certain  magazines. 

9.  Publicising  the  society  or  a  chapter  by 
magazine  articles. 

10.  Public  exhibition  of  plans,  perspectives 
and  photographs. 

1.  Personal  Solicitation  by  Self  or  Agent. 
Following  a  discussion  on  this  subject,  upon 
motion  of  Mr.  Greenleaf,  it  was 

Voted:  It  is  the  sense  of  the  meeting  that 
the  A.  S.  L.  A.  discourage  all  solicitation  of 
business  except  as  it  can  be  done  with  entire 
personal  dignity  and   professional   propriety. 

2.  Business  Cards  in  Magazines  or  Papers. 
The  chairman  asked,  "Shall  we  discourage 
methods  of  advertising  by  cards,  or  other- 
wise?"    Upon   motion  of  Mr.   Olmsted,  it  was 

Voted:  The  A.  S.  L.  A.  is  decidedly  against 
placing  business  cards  in  magazine  advertising. 

3.  Business  Circulars.  During  the  discus- 
sion Mr.  Olmsted  thought  "Advertising  Cir- 
culars" would  be  a  better  term.  The  discus- 
sion resulted  in  the  following  vote: 

Voted:  That  the  society  condemns  the  send- 
ing out  broadcast  of  professional  circulars  or 
their  use  in  any  way  likely  to  result  in  loss 
of  professional  dignity. 

Dinner  Session.  Present:  Mrs.  Farrand, 
Miss  Coffin,  Messrs.  Blossom,  Brinckerhoflf, 
Caparn,  Dawson,  DeForest,  Fowler,  Gay, 
Geiflert,  Greenleaf,  Hubbard,  Lay,  Manning, 
Olmsted,  Parsons,  Phillips,  Pray,  Saltus, 
Schermerhorn,  Smith,  Tealdi.  Vaux,  Vitale, 
Weinrichter,  Wheelwright.  Guests:  Nelson 
P.  Lewis,  Chief  Engineer  Board  of  Estimate 
and  Apportionment,  New  York  City,  Charles 
W.  Stoughton,  President  Municipal  Art  So- 
ciety, New  York  City,  William  Warner  Harp- 
er and   Irving  Payne. 

The  report  of  the  president  for  the  year  was 
given  during  the  dinner,  and  the  president  re- 
ferred to  a  message  he  had  received  from  a 
landscape  architect  in  Belgium  appealing  to 
the  members  of  the  society  to  contribute 
knowledge  as  a  result  of  their  experience  in 
city  planning  to  aid  that  country  in  replanning 
her  cities  after  the  war  is  over.  Mr.  Green- 
leaf, president  of  the  New  Y'ork  chapter,  gave 
an  interesting  report  on  its  activities  during 
the  year  and  President  Pray  reported  for 
the  Boston  chapter.  Report  of  the  Minne- 
sota chapter  was  read  and  applauded.  The 
president  then  introduced  Mr.  Nelson  P. 
Lewis,  who  gave  a  very  practical  talk  on  the 
cost  of  City  Planning  in  American  Cities.  Mr. 
Stoughton  described  to  the  society  the  work 
and  aims  of  the  Municipal  Art  Society  of  New 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


33 


York.  The  reports  of  the  Committees  on 
Education  and  on  National  Parks  were  made 
by  the  chairmen  and  accepted. 

February  14,  1916.  Annual  Boston  meeting 
and  dinner,   Hotel   Bellevue,   Boston,   Mass. 

Present:  Messrs.  Comey,  Desmond,  Gibbs, 
Hall,  Kellaway,  Nolen,  J.  C.  Olmsted.  Pray, 
Robinson,  Shurtleff,  Steele,  Underwood,  Vitale. 

Mr.  Comey  appointed  as  secretary  pro  tern, 
and  the  minutes  of  the  Xew  York  meeting 
were  approved  without  reading.  The  presi- 
dent announced  a  meeting  of  the  incorporators 
at  Mr.  Manning's  office  that  noon  to  take  first 
steps  towards  incorporating  the  society  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  recent  vote  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee,  and  invited  any  or  all  present 
to  participate.  Discussion  of  the  three  special 
reports  presented  at  the  New  York  meeting 
was  continued,  and  it  was  voted  that  the  meet- 
ing approve  the  adoption  of  a  code  of  ethics. 
Various  portions  of  the  code  were  then  taken 
up  in  detail  and  discussed  and  slight  changes 
in  the  wording  voted  upon. 

The  Committee  on  Publicity:  A  letter  was 
read  from  Mr.  Wyman  accompanying  his  re- 
port which  was  taken  up  with  its  various 
recommendations  for  acceptance.  It  was  the 
sense  of  the  meeting  that  paid  advertising  be 
abolished  as  soon  as  the  Publicity  Bureau  is 
effective  and  that  a  bureau  be  established.  As 
having  a  bearing  on  the  need  of  advertising  by 
men  starting  out  for  themselves,  Mr.  Vitale 
described  his  office  system  of  giving  credit  to 
his  assistants  and  having  them  sign  plans. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Policies,  Mr. 
Caparn,  chairman,  was  presented  and  dis- 
cussed. At  the  opening  of  this  discussion  the 
president  made   the   following  statement: 

The  need  has  long  been  felt  for  definite, 
usable,  brief  formulations  of  the  views  of  the 
society  representing  the  profession,  on  cer- 
tain constantly  recurring  questions  in  our  field, 
where  our  judgment  is  or  should  be  of  special 
value  as  that  of  experts  or  where  the  interests 
of  the  profession  are  at  stake,  or  where  a 
member  is  entitled  to  backing  by  the  society 
in  some  worthy  civic  endeavor  in  standing  out 
for  a  principle  which  the  society  endorses. 
The  following  is  proposed: 

First:  Brief  formulation  of  principles. 

Second:  Supplementary  material  likely  to  be 
useful  in  applying  them  or  securing  their  local 
appreciation  (including  explanation  and  ex- 
pansion of  principles,  citings  of  examples,  and 
references  to  published  material.) 

Such    formulations   plus   supplementary   ma- 


terial can  be  printed — each  policy  covered  in 
a  separate  pamphlet — to  be  sold  by  the  society 
to  members  and  others,  as  so  much  "muni- 
tions" or  as  part  of  a  certain  civic  "prepared- 
ness"; and  these  published  statements  grad- 
ually accumulating  can  become  if  not  a  body 
of  law,  at  least  a  body  of  precept  stamped 
with  the  approval  of  the  society,  representing, 
let  us  hope,  the  best  thought  in  the  profession, 
— a  collection  of  useful  statements  of  truth  in 
the  field  of  the  profession, — helping  to  bring 
the  profession  as  such  more  intimately  into 
relation  with  the  life  of  the  community.  When 
sufficient,  this  material  will  also  be  of  inesti- 
mable value  to  secure  the  best  kind  of  publicity 
in  the  press,  more  or  less  systematically  when 
this  is  desirable  and   always  promptly. 

A  synopsis  of  the  report  was  read  and  the 
policies  recommended  were  taken  up  seriatim. 
With  minor  changes  in  the  wording  it  was 
voted  to  accept  policies  in  regard  to  the  fol- 
lowing: Preservation  of  Niagara  Falls,  Build- 
ings in  Parks,  Diversion  of  Park  Lands;  and 
the  shorter  form  of  statement  relating  to  bill 
boards  was  read  by  the  chairman.  The  meet- 
ing referred  to  the  Executive  Committee  for 
immediate  report  the  question  of  the  proposed 
power  station  said  to  be  in  conflict  with  the 
general  plan  of  Washington,  D.   C. 

Dinner   Session.      Hotel    Somerset,    Boston. 

Present:  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Blossom,  Comey, 
Dawson,  Desmond,  Gallagher,  Gibbs,  Hub- 
bard, Kellaway,  Manning,  Nolen,  J.  C.  Olm- 
sted, Pray,  Rejmolds,  Robinson,  Rotch,  Shurt- 
leff, Smith,  Steele,  Underwood,  Vitale,  Whit- 
ing. Guests:  Mr.  Allen  Chamberlain.  Mr.  Her- 
bert W.  Gleason.  Mr.  Richard  B.  Watrous. 
Guests  of  members:  Messrs.  Caldwell,  Em- 
mons,  Martin,   Norton,   Smith,  Wagner. 

After  the  dinner  and  following  an  informal 
opening,  which  included  stories  suggested  by 
the  smallness  of  the  number  present  compared 
with  the  "might}'  roll"  of  the  society,  and  in- 
cluded also  the  toast,  in  recognition  of  "Saint 
Valentine's  night,"  "To  our  best  girls,  God 
bless  them  all!"  which  was  acted  on  with  en- 
thusiasm, all  rising,  the  president  made  a  short 
speech  on  the  subject  of  the  evening,  "The 
National  Parks"  and  explained  that  the  Hon- 
orable Stephen  T.  Mather,  assistant  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  and  in  responsible  charge 
of  all  the  National  Parks,  and  Mr.  Robert  B. 
Marshall,  superintendent  of  National  Parks, 
had  been  expected  to  speak  but  were  unable 
to  be  present.  President  Pray  presented  vari- 
ous letters  and  telegrams  expressing  their  re- 
gret and  also  their  appreciation  of  the  interest 


34 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


taken  by  the  society  in  the  National  Parks. 
Mr.  Richard  B.  Watrous  was  then  presented 
and  spoke  of  the  proposed  erection  of  a  power 
plant  on  the  bank  of  the  Potomac  River  in 
Washington  and  then  took  up  his  subject  of 
National  Parks.  After  a  short  talk  by  Mr. 
Manning,  Mr.  Herbert  Gleason,  a  member  of 
the  American  Civic  Association's  Special  Com- 
mittee on  the  National  Parks,  was  introduced 
and  delivered  an  extraordinarily  interesting 
lecture  describing  and  illustrating  with  his 
wonderful  colored  slides  typical  landscapes  of 
all  the  fourteen  National   Parks. 

President  Pray  then  presented  a  set  of  reso- 
lutions on  National  Parks  which  was  unani- 
mously endorsed. 

RESOLUTION 

Whereas,  The  need  has  long  been  felt  not 
only  for  more  adequate  protection  of  the  sur- 
passing beauty  of  those  primeval  landscapes 
which  the  National  Parks  have  been  created 
to  perpetuate,  but  also  for  rendering  this  land- 
scape beauty  more  readily  enjoyable  through 
construction  in  these  paiks  of  certain  neces- 
sary roads  and  buildings  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  visitors  in  a  way  to  bring  the  minimum 
of  injury  to  these  primeval  landscapes; 

Whereas,  The  meeting  of  this  two-fold  need 
can  only  be  expected  to  come  from,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  creation  of  a  special  government 
service  charged  with  the  sole  responsibility 
for  the  care  and  maintenance  and,  so  far  as 
need  be,  the  development,  of  these  areas  for 
their  primary  recreative  purpose,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  from  the  securing  by  such  govern- 
ment service  when  created,  of  the  most  expert 
professional  counsel  to  advise  as  to  the  actual 
treatment  of  these  areas,  including  their  plan- 
ning and  the  design  of  all  necessary  construc- 
tions with  them; 

Whereas,  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has 
now  appointed  in  responsible  charge  of  these 
National  Parks,  Stephen  Tyng  Mather,  and  as 
general  superintendent  of  the  National  Parks, 
under  him  and  in  direct  responsible  relation 
to  these  park  areas,  Robert  Bradford  Marshall, 
both  public  servants  of  the  highest  character 
and  standing,  and,  in  the  judgment  of  this  so- 
ciety particularly  qualified  to  be  in  adminis- 
trative charge  of  these  areas,  and  it  is  under- 
stood that  they  do  not  intend  to  accept  or 
adopt  any  comprehensive  plans  for  these  areas, 
or  designs  for  constructions  which  such  plans 
may  provide  for,  without  first  securing  the  ap- 
proval   of   qualified    experts   advisory,   and    an 


earnest  desire  for  the  co-operation  of  this 
society  had  been   expressed;  and 

Whereas,  A  bill  (H.  R.  8668)  has  been  in- 
troduced in  Congress  by  Mr.  Kent  of  Cali- 
fornia and  has  been  referred  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  Public  Lands,  being  a  bill  to  establish 
a  National  Park  Service,  and  drawn  by  mem- 
bers of  the  American  Civic  Association  in  con- 
ference with  representatives  of  the  American 
Society  of  Landscape  Architects:  be  it,  and  it 
hereby  is, 

Resolved:  First,  that  the  American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects  declares  its  confi- 
dence in  the  present  provisional  administra- 
tion  of   the    National   Parks; 

Second,  that  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  endorses  the  bill  (H.  R.  8668), 
entitled  a  Bill  to  Establish  a  National  Park 
Service,  and  pledges  its  utmost  efiforts,  in  co- 
operation with  the  American  Civic  Associa- 
tion,  to  secure   its   passage; 

Third,  that  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  pledges  itself,  and  invites  its 
individual  members,  to  co-operate  in  any  way 
possible,  and  consistent  with  the  recognized 
ethics  of  the  profession,  with  the  present  pro- 
visional National  Park  Service,  and  with  the 
National  Park  service  sought  to  be  established 
under  the  aforesaid  bill. 

RESOLUTION  regarding  erection  of  pow- 
er plant  in  Washington,  D.  C,  also  endorsed 
at  the  society  meeting  of  February  14,  1916. 

Whereas,  It  is  proposed  to  erect  a  govern- 
ment power  plant  of  large  proportions  on  the 
bank  of  the  Potomac  in  the  city  of  Washing- 
ton with  four  smoke  chimneys,  each  about 
two  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  in  a  location 
where  they  will  be  seen  conspicuously  from  the 
capitol,  the  new  Lincoln  monument,  and  the 
new  East  Potomac  Park,  and  in  relation  with 
the   Washington   monument;  and 

Whereas,  Such  a  structure  in  this  location 
will  seriously  interfere  with  the  proper  de- 
velopment of  the  great  plan  for  the  city  of 
Washington  originated  by  the  French  engineer 
L'Enfant,  and  recommended  by  the  Park  Com- 
mission of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  the 
Senate  Committee  on  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, in  Senate  report  number  166  of  the  57th 
Congress,  first  session,  which  plan  in  the  judg- 
ment of  the  society  should  be  scrupulously  ad- 
hered to;  be,   and   it  hereby  is, 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  is  emphatically  opposed 
to  the  erection  of  the  proposed  power  plant 
in  Washington  on  the  bank  of  the  Potomac, 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


35 


or  in  any  other  place  where  it  will  conspicu- 
ously mar  the  development  of  the  plan  for 
Washington,  and  to  any  other  such  interfer- 
ence with  the  full  realization  of  that   plan. 

January  9,  1917.  Eighteenth  annual  meeting 
and  dinner.   Hotel   Brevoort,  New  York  City. 

Present:  Mrs.  Farrand,  Messrs.  Brincker- 
hoflf,  Caparn,  DeForest,  Desmond,  Fowler, 
Greenleaf,  Hare,  Hubbard,  Lowric,  F.  L.  Olm- 
sted, J.  C.  Olmsted,  Parsons.  Simonds,  S.  C. 
Smith,   Vitale,   Wheelwright. 

In  the  absence  of  the  president,  because  of 
illness,  the  meeting  was  called  to  order  by 
Vice-President  Caparn.  The  reading  of  the 
minutes  of  the  last  meeting  was  waived  upon 
motion  duly  seconded  and  carried.  After  the 
appointment  of  two  tellers  to  count  the  votes 
upon  questions  put  to  the  society  by  mail  bal- 
lot during  the  year,  various  reports  were  given, 
commencing  with  those  of  the  president,  sec- 
retary and  treasurer.  Chapter  reports  were 
read  and  approved  from  the  following  chap- 
ters of  the  society:  Boston,  New  York,  Minne- 
sota, and  Mid-West. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  National 
Parks  was  read  and  accepted.  The  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Publicity  was  read  and  dis- 
cussed. Mr,  Olmsted  referred  to  the  action 
taken  by  the  trustees  discouraging  any  kind 
of  paid  advertising  and  stating  that  the  "society 
does  not  favor  paid  advertising"  and  explain- 
ing further  that  the  trustees  object  to  a  pub- 
lished list  of  members  appearing  in  a  magazine 
as  a  paid  advertisement.  This  was  one  of  the 
methods  suggested  in  the  report  on  Publicity. 
Mr.  V'itale  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  so- 
ciety should  take  a  stronger  stand  and  that 
we  should  forbid  instead  of  disapprove  paid 
advertising.  To  a  question  of  Mrs.  Farrand 
he  stated  that  the  New  York  Bar  Association 
had  a  Grievance  Committee  to  deal  with  such 
matters.  Mr.  J.  C.  Olmsted  thought  it  bet- 
ter to  take  cases  up  as  they  arose  rather  than 
have  a  law  on  our  statute  books.  Mr.  Hare 
in  reply  to  a  question  in  regard  to  a  card 
which  his  firm  carried  in  a  western  magazine, 
stated  that  this  advertisement  had  brought 
them  new  business.  After  further  discussion 
it  was  the  sense  of  the  meeting  that  the  report 
of  the  Committee  on  Publicity  be  referred 
back  to  the  committee  for  revision. 

The  Committee  on  Competitions,  Mr.  Vitale, 
chairman,  reported  progress  and  the  Commit- 
tee on  Relations  with  Trades  stated  that  the 
report  was  not  yet  complete.  Mr.  Olmsted,  as 
chairman,  reported  for  the  Committee  on  Plant 


Names  and  Abbreviations.  It  was  the  sense 
of  the  meeting  that  this  excellent  report  be 
placed  on  file  but  that  the  financial  condition 
of  the  society  forbids  its  printing  in  full.  Re- 
port of  the  Committee  to  Defray  Society  In- 
debtedness, T.  G.  Phillips,  chairman,  was  read 
by  the  secretary  and  it  was  voted  that  the 
trustees  be  asked  to  authorize  Mr.  Phillips  to 
continue  to  solicit  for  additional  funds.  Re- 
port of  Committee  on  Professional  Practice 
and  Ethics,  Mr.  Child,  chairman,  was  not  in 
form  to  submit  to  the  meeting.  Following  a 
discussion,  it  was  the  sense  of  the  meeting 
that  the  portion  of  the  report  dealing  with  the 
method  of  charging  be  made  available  in  the 
near  future  and  that  the  whole  matter  be  re- 
ferred back  to  the  committee,  further  that  the 
secretary  express  the  appreciation  of  the  so- 
ciety to  Mr.  Child  and  his  committee  for  the 
work  that  they  had  done. 

Mr.  Parsons  brought  up  the  question  of  the 
publication  by  the  society  of  Classics  in  Land- 
scape .'\rchitecture  and  referred  to  a  letter  he 
had  received  from  Houghton  Mifflin  and  Co., 
relative  to  the  publication  of  "Hints  on  Land- 
scape Architecture"  by  Prince  von  Puckler- 
Muskau.  The  company  proposed  to  let  the 
society  have  200  copies  at  a  30%  discount  or 
a  larger  number  at  a  one-third  discount.  It 
was  announced  that  the  Board  of  Trustees 
had  appointed  two  of  its  members  to  look  in- 
to the  matter  and  the  letter  was  referred  to  the 
president. 

The  report  of  tlio  tellers  was  read  and  ac- 
cepted. 

Annual  Dinner  and  Evening  Session.  Pres- 
ent: Mrs.  Farrand,  Messrs.  Blossom,  Brinck- 
erholT,  Caparn,  Clarke,  Dawson,  Desmond,  De- 
Forest,  Fleming,  Fowler.  Gay,  Geiffert, 
Greenleaf,  Hare,  Hubbard,  Kennard,  Lowrie, 
F.  L.  Olmsted,  J.  C.  Olmsted,  Parsons,  Pilat, 
L'nderwood,  Vitale,  Wheelwright.  Guests: 
Frederick  L.  Ackerman,  Edward  M.  Bassett, 
E.  G.  Davis,  A.  H.  Fields,  C.  F.  Goodwin,  J. 
C.  Mollar,  J.   H.  Small.  Jr.,  H.   Sadler. 

Telegrams  and  letters  of  greeting  were  read 
during  the  dinner,  including  those  from  Mr. 
Thomas  Mawson,  Mr.  Stephen  T.  Mather,  and 
tlie  Minnesota  Chapter.  The  chairman,  Mr. 
Caparn,  referred  to  the  society's  policies  and 
said  there  were  certain  declarations  of  prin- 
ciple of  national  interest  that  the  society 
should  make  or  have  considered,  regarding 
Niagara  Falls,  bill  boards.  National  Parks,  and 
public  buildings  in  the  parks.  He  read  a  let- 
ter from  Mr.  J.  Horace  McFarland  relative  to 
the  danger  now  threatening  the  Falls  and  also 


36 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


gave  a  brief  history  of  the  treaty  entered  into 
by  the  United  States  and  Canada,  limiting  the 
number  of  cubic  feet  of  water  per  second  that 
could  be  diverted  for  power  purposes.  On 
motion  of  Mr.  Greenleaf,  it  was  moved:  "That 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects,  Inc.,  be  urged  to 
prepare  and  publish  a  resolution  or  statement 
expressing  the  opinion  of  the  society  that  no 
more  water  should  be  withdrawn  from  Niagara 
Falls  for  power  purposes  than  is  permitted 
under  fixed  government  limitations  in  the 
present  treaty." 

Following  the  dinner  the  toastmaster  intro- 
duced the  principal  speaker  of  the  evening, 
Mr.  Edward  M.  Bassett,  ex-Public  Service 
Commissioner  and  Chairman  of  Commission 
on  Heights  of  Buildings  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  who  told  of  the  working  out  of  the 
zoning  system  of  cities  as  applied  to  New  York 
City.  He  contrasted  the  condition  of  the  cities 
with  inadequate  sewers,  poor  street  improve- 
ments, and  the  consequent  dissatisfied  condi- 
tion of  the  population,  to  the  present  well 
planned  and  governed  city  which  was  like  a 
transition  to  the  realm  of  the  beautiful.  Mr. 
Bassett  outlined  the  movement  in  New  Y'ork 
City  regulating  the  future  policy  of  building, 
particularly  the  heights  of  buildings.  He  said 
three  and  a  half  years  ago  the  movement  was 
brought  about  and  he  had  become  interested 
because  of  the  economic  needs.  In  putting 
these  rules  into  force  it  became  evident  to  the 
committee  that  they  were  not  solving  the 
problem  for  one  five-hundredth  part  of  New 
York  City.  There  were  other  interests  suffer- 
ing for  lack  of  control  or  regulation.  Garage 
buildings  were  being  erected  in  residential 
sections  and  other  establishments  were  lo- 
cating in  fashionable  shopping  districts,  caus- 
ing a  decline  in  real  estate  values  that  became 
alarming.  A  law  was  framed  and  passed  as 
an  amendment,  giving  all  the  powers  of  the 
state  of  New  York  to  a  duly  appointed  com- 
mission to  regulate  not  only  the  height,  but  the 
size,  location  and  use  of  buildings.  Mr.  Bas- 
sett said  such  a  commission  was  appointed  and 
worked  two  years  districting  or  zoning  the 
city.  By  this  time  it  had  become  evident  to 
students  of  the  problem  that  the  outer  districts 
were  capable  also  of  development  along  pre- 
established  lines,  therefore,  a  plan  for  the  en- 
tire city  of  New  York  was  prepared,  accom- 
panied by  the  commissioner's  report.  This 
report  met  with  favor.  The  early  opposition 
had  disappeared  and  all  classes  now  favored 
the  zoning  for  reasons  of  self-protection.     Ac- 


cording to  the  zoning  map  the  city  is  divided: 
1.  As  to  heights  of  new  buildings.  2.  The  per 
cent,  of  area  of  the  lot  covered  by  the  new 
building.  3.  As  to  the  use  of  new  building,  or 
use  of  old  building.  He  said  that  the  most 
useful  regulation  was  that  of  the  per  cent,  of 
lot  covered  because  it  aflfects  the  amount  of 
light  and  air.  In  warehouse  districts  or  along 
the  railroads  and  waterfronts,  one  hundred  per 
cent,  of  the  land  can  be  covered.  Next  would 
come  the  high  buildings  where  ninety  per  cent, 
of  the  area  above  the  store  portion  or  the  first 
story,  can  be  covered.  Every  one  of  the  five 
boroughs,  said  Mr.  Bassett,  has  a  map  show- 
ing the  regulated  heights,  another  the  use, 
etc.  The  results  accomplished,  he  said,  have 
helped  the  business  localities,  also  the  resi- 
dential section.  He  referred  particularly  to 
public  garages.  These  had  been  allowed  in  all 
sections  and  when  located  in  a  residential  sec- 
tion proved  an  annoyance  to  the  public.  Now 
they  are  not  permitted,  except  in  industrial  lo- 
calities. In  conclusion,  Mr.  Bassett  gave  an 
outline  of  the  legal  side  or  workings  of  the 
law.  He  said  the  Board  of  Estimates  could 
alter  any  district  by  a  majority  vote.  He 
stated  also  that  the  greatest  danger  is  in  the 
courts  but  up  to  the  present  time  no  case  has 
been  decided  against  the  zoning.  The  law  is 
backed  by  the  police  power  of  the  state  of 
New  York  but  the  courts  never  have  defined 
police  powers  in  the  state.  For  New  York 
City,  the  zoning  plan  is  depending  largely  up- 
on the  safety,  health  and  morals  of  its  people 
for   its   success. 

The  next  speaker  was  Mr.  Ackerman  of 
Trowbridge  and  Ackerman,  architects,  who 
spoke  on  the  question  of  .collaboration  in  de- 
sign. Referring  to  the  development  of  a  coun- 
try estate,  Mr.  Ackerman  said:  To  the  average 
person  such  a  problem  presents  itself  as  com- 
posed of  several  distinct  and  separate  phases 
grouped  under  three  major  divisions — the 
work  of  the  architect,  the  landscape  architect 
and  the  interior  decorator;  and  it  is  not  un- 
usual— in  fact  it  is  the  general  rule — to  find  the 
problem  approached  by  the  independent  em- 
ployment of  three  individuals  engaged  in  these 
pursuits.  Sometimes — oftentimes — the  three 
are  engaged  almost  simultaneously,  with  no 
very  definite  concept  of  which  should  initiate 
or  formulate  the  general  outline  of  the  scheme 
or  solution.  By  chance,  it  is  the  architect, 
perhaps  the  landscape  architect,  or  sometimes 
the  decorator  who  initiates  the  work.  Gen- 
erally there  is  an  assumption  that  the  three 
shall  work  in  collaboration,  but  rarely  is  there 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


37 


ever  a  general  conference  of  the  three  with 
the  client,  and  even  more  rarely  is  there  real 
collaboration  worthy  of  the  name.  What 
actually  occurs  is  this:  Some  details  are  es- 
tablished by  one  of  the  three,  and  the  process 
thereafter  is  that  of  warping  the  several  in- 
dividual ideas  into  a  sort  of  harmony  of  ar- 
rangement or  expression.  It  is  a  rather  ne- 
bulous ideal  which  remains  nebulous  through 
our  persistence  in  the  use  of  values  which  ap- 
ply alone  to  the  narrow  field  in  which  we  are 
individually  engaged.  The  attitude  already 
expressed  as  that  of  the  average  client,  to- 
gether with  the  disintegrated  results  to  be  ob- 
served upon  every  hand,  are  most  significant 
when  examined  in  an  attitude  of  inquiry  which 
seeks  its  cause.  The  student  must  learn  to 
look  upon  his  contribution  not  as  an  independ- 
ent element  which  may  at  will  be  added  or 
taken  away  but  rather  as  a  factor  to  be  in- 
tegraded  with  other  factors.  All  this  may 
seem  so  obvious  that  it  is  hardly  worth  the 
stating,  yet  if  one  looks  about  with  some  pur- 
pose of  analysis,  he  soon  discovers  that  illus- 
trations or  examples  of  such  united  effort  are 
rare  indeed.  Our  schools  are  preparing  ele- 
ments to  be  used  in  a  mixture;  they  are  not 
making  a  compound.  Or,  to  use  another  fig- 
ure, it  is  a  patch-work  quilt  upon  which  they 
are  working  when  they  should  be  weaving  a 
fabric.  The  architectural  student  looks  with 
an  attitude  of  unsympathetic  criticism  upon 
both  the  practical  (vocational)  and  the  ro- 
mantic tendencies  of  the  school  of  landscape 
design.  The  student  in  landscape  architecture 
looks  upon  the  work  of  the  architectural  stud- 
ent with  his  formal  plans  covered  with 
"mosaique"  and  oftentimes  meaningless  con- 
ventions, as  void  of  any  value  whatsoever. 
The  student  in  decorations  has  no  use  for  the 
cold,  monumental,  conventional  indications  of 
the  architect,  while  the  architect  depreciates 
the  "interiors"  of  the  decorator,  showing  as 
they  so  often  do,  little  else  than  a  bit  of 
"period"  wall,  a  chair,  a  table,  and  a  bit  of 
chintz.  In  answer  to  the  question,  "How  can 
we  achieve  collaboration?",  he  answered^-only 
by  breaking  down  the  hedge  or  the  wall  that 
separates  the  school  of  architects  from  the 
school  of  landscape  architects.  The  students 
of  both  should  collaborate.  He  suggested  the 
students  of  both  schools  be  given  the  same 
problem.  In  his  opinion,  this  would  develop 
a  desirable  working  relation  which  would  pro- 
duce a  foundation  on  which  to  build  in  after 
years.  Mr.  Ackerman  said  that  if  a  student  of 
architecture  goes   to   a   school    of   engineering 


this  does  not  make  him  an  engineer  but  rather 
it  makes  him  appreciate  the  engineer's  point 
of  view  and  prepares  him  to  co-operate  the 
better  when  in  practice  in  after  years,  they  are 
called  in  to  work  on  a  given  problem.  We 
must  show  the  student  that  his  entire  environ- 
ment counts,  and  that  unity  of  expression  is  of 
first   importance. 

Mr.  Caparn  called  upon  Mr.  J.  C.  Mollar,  a 
guest  from  South  America,  who  responded  by 
stating  that  he  had  started  as  an  architect  and 
degenerated  into  a  contracting  engineer.  He 
told  of  the  difficulties  in  landscape  problems 
particularly  in  the  north  of  Peru,  where  it  was 
necessary  to  transport  earth  several  hundred 
miles  in  order  to  have  gardens. 

Mr.  Vitale  was  then  called  upon.  He  ex- 
pressed an  interest  in  a  system  of  education 
such  as  Mr.  Ackerman  had  outlined,  and  told 
of  the  student  work  at   Rome. 

February  16,  1917.  Boston  annual  meeting. 
Hotel   Vendome,   Boston. 

Present:  Messrs.  Blancy,  Blossom,  Brett, 
Brinckerhoff,  Caparn,  Comey,  Fleming,  Fow- 
ler, Gay,  Gibbs,  Hall,  Kellaway,  J.  C.  Olm- 
sted, Pond,  Pray,  Reynolds,  Shurtleflf,  F.  A.  C. 
Smith,  S.  C.  Smith,  Vitale. 

In  the  absence  of  the  secretary,  Mr.  De- 
Forest,  Mr.  Brinckerhoff  was  elected  secretary 
pro  tem.     On  motion  it  was 

V'oted:  To  waive  the  reading  of  the  minutes 
of  the  last  meeting. 

The  president  stated  that  owing  to  the  wider 
geographical  distribution  of  members  it  had 
now  for  several  years  proved  impossible  to  get 
together  a  quorum  at  any  meeting  of  the  so- 
ciety, and  that  moreover  even  were  the  ma- 
jority of  the  voting  members  present,  the  liy- 
laws  no  longer  permit  a  meeting  to  commit 
the  society  on  any  matter  of  importance.  Such 
matters  must  be  submitted  to  the  whole  mem- 
bership for  mail  ballot  vote.  No  action  of  this 
meeting,  then,  could  commit  the  society. 
Nevertheless,  these  meetings  are  of  great 
value,  not  merely  in  bringing  the  members  to- 
gether but  in  providing  opportunities  for  dis- 
cussions of  important  matters  and  for  express- 
ing the  "sense  of  the  meeting"  on  these  mat- 
ters by  actual  votes,  which,  while  not  com- 
mitting the  society,  are  nevertheless  of  interest 
to  the  whole  membership  and  most  influential 
in  determining  the  society's  decisions.  On  in- 
quiry he  stated  that  in  these  discussions  and 
votes  Juniors  as  well  as  Fellows  are  expected 
to  take  active  part.  The  main  purpose  of  this 
meeting    was    to    consider,    discuss,    and    vote 


38 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


upon  the  recommendations  included  in  the  re- 
ports of  certain  important  committees. 

The  president  then,  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  to  Cooperate  with  the  Comite 
Neerlando-Belge  d'Art  Civique,  briefly  sum- 
marized the  annual  report  of  the  committee, 
which  will  go  out  in  full  to  the  membership. 
The  president  then  read  Mr.  Vitale's  report 
as  chairman  of  the  Special  Committee  on 
Competitions  with  accompanying  letters  from 
Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Mr.  Lay  and  Mr.  Comey. 
members  of  the  committee.  On  motion  of 
Mr.  Kellaway  it  was  voted  to  take  up  in  their 
order  the  recommendations  contained  in  this 
report.  After  discussion  various  slight  changes 
were  made  in  the  wording  of  the  recommenda- 
tions.    It   was  then 

Voted:  To  approve  the  recommendation  thus 
modified,  reading  as  follows:  "Competitions 
for  the  purpose  of  selecting  a  finished  design 
should  be  discouraged  because  of  the  difficulty 
of  representing  the  complex  elements  of  land- 
scape design  in  graphic  form;  also  because  the 
designers  do  not  have  the  opportunity  to  con- 
fer with  the  owners  in  order  to  gain  a  clear 
idea  of  the  nature  of  the  problem  but  must 
rely  upon  the  data  of  a  program  generally  too 
vague  to  allow  unity  of  interpretation  and  ef- 
forts  on  the   part   of  the   competitors." 

After  slight  revisions,  it  was 

Voted:  To  approve  the  second  recommenda- 
tion, which  then  read:  "That  competitions  for 
the  selection  of  a  designer  through  the  pre- 
sentation of  designs  for  a  specific  problem 
are  preferable  to  the  former,  but  that  the 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects, 
Inc.,  should  not  encourage  them.  Since  com- 
petitions of  this  sort  are  frequently  unavoid- 
able, especially  in  the  case  of  public  under- 
takings, the  society  should  do  what  it  can  in 
order  to  produce  a  better  attitude  on  the  part 
of  the  public,  and  to  offset  the  disposition  of 
laymen  to  ignore  or  greatly  underrate  the  de- 
gree of  importance  and  the  final  results  of  all 
the  professional  services  which  follow  the  first 
expression  of  the  main  conception  of  a  design 
in  the  form  of  drawings.  In  other  words,  be- 
fore a  competitor  is  admitted  to  the  competi- 
tion, the  promoters  of  the  competition  for  the 
selection  of  a  designer  should  satisfy  them- 
selves as  to  the  ability  of  each  competitor  to 
execute  the  work  successfully,  as  shown  by 
the  previous  work." 

The  president  then  read  the  third  recom- 
mendation, and  after  discussion  and  slight  al- 
terations  in   the   wording   it    was 

Voted:   To   approve   the   third   recommenda- 


tion, which  then  read  as  follows:  "Since  com- 
petitions must  be  held,  the  least  objectionable 
form  of  competition  is  for  the  sake  of  securing 
ideas  from  one  or  more  of  the  competitors, 
provided  such  ideas  are  obtained  through  re- 
ports and  rough  sketches  and  not  through 
elaborate   drawings." 

Detailed  recommendations  regarding  the  rules 
which  should  govern  competitions  were  not 
discussed  at  this  meeting  on  account  of  the  lack 
of  time.  The  matter  was  referred  back  to  the 
committee  with  the  request  that  they  give  it 
further   consideration,  and  report. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Policies, 
Mr.  Caparn,  chairman,  was  discussed  and  the 
wording  of  the  Policy  on  National  Forests  was 
taken  up  carefuUj'  and  in  detail  but  in  view 
of  the  shortness  of  time  it  vv-as  decided  not  to 
discuss  the  other  policies  proposed  in  equal 
detail  but  to  approve  the  adoption  of  the  vari- 
ous policies  as  presented  by  this  committee, 
namely  those  on  National  Highways,  Natural 
Fertility  of  the  Land,  and  Timely  Acquisition 
of   Park   Lands. 

The  president  then  announced  the  well  in- 
tentioned  move  in  the  state  of  Nebraska  to 
enact  a  law  which  would  require  every  land- 
scape architect  to  have  a  state  license  in  order 
to  practice,  and  that  this  had  been  checked  by 
the  prompt  action  of  the  trustees  in  whose 
judgment  such  a  law  would  not  be  in  the  in- 
terest of  maintaining  high  professional  stand- 
ards. The  president  then  read  a  list  of  stand- 
ing committees  and  special  committees  for  the 
year  and  their  membership. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Publicity, 
Phelps  Wyman,  chairman,  was  read  by  the 
president  and  he  urged  ,a  very  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  various  recommendations  em- 
bodied in  this  report.  The  report  lead  to  a 
good  deal  of  discussion  on  the  general  ques- 
tion of  advertising  and  on  motion  of  Mr. 
Vitale,  it  was 

Voted:  That  although  the  American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects.  Inc.,  does  not  ap- 
prove generally  of  the  practice  of  paid  ad- 
vertising, the  matter  of  paid  advertising  should 
be  left  in  the  hands  of  the  individual  chapters 
to  establish  the  practice  in  the  regions  under 
their  immediate  influence,  the  idea  being  that 
any  outlying  member  will,  in  the  long  run,  so 
far  as  his  local  circumstances  permit,  follow 
the  custom  established  by  the  chapter  to 
whose  headquarters  he  is  nearest. 

The  specific  recommendations  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Publicity  grouped  under  the  two 
heads.    Individual    Publicity    and    Society    and 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


39 


Chapter,  or  Local,  Publicity,  were  then  taken 
up  in  order,  and  very  carefully  considered  and 
the  sense  of  the  meeting  expressed  with  re- 
gard to  each  finally  in  a  vote.  Under  Indi- 
vidual Publicity,  it  was 

Voted:  To  approve  the  statement  that  "The 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects, 
Inc.,  does  not  favor  indiscriminate  or  com- 
mercial solicitation,  either  by  a  member  or  his 
employee";  and 

Voted:  To  omit  qualifying  clause  immediate- 
ly following,  "though  it  does  recognize  the 
propriety  of  special  presentations  of  one's 
work  and  qualifications  on  certain  occasions;" 
and 

Voted:  To  approve  the  statement  that  "The 
society  does  not  favor  the  indiscriminate  use 
of  paid  advertising  either  in  the  form  of  busi- 
ness cards  in  magazines  and  directories,  or  of 
circular  literature  for  distribution,  though  it 
does  recognize  its  value  under  special  condi- 
tions if  of  relevant  material  well  prepared  and 
presented," 

(Note:  To  this  it  is  understood  that  the 
vote  just  above  recorded  as  passed  on  mo- 
tion of  Mr.  Vitale,  providing  that  the  determ- 
ination as  to  how  far  paid  advertising  will  be 
approved  shall  be  left  to  the  chapters,  is  to 
be  added);  and 

Voted:  To  approve  the  statement  that  "The 
society  does  not  favor  the  use  of  signs  posted 
on  works";  and 

Voted:  To  approve  the  statement  that  "The 
society  instruct  the  Board  of  Trustees,  or  a 
committee  duly  appointed  by  it,  to  take  up 
with  any  member  personally  and  in  a  kindly 
way  any  departure  from  the  spirit  of  this 
statement." 

Under  society  and  chapter,  or  local,  pub- 
licity, it  was 

Voted:  To  approve  the  statement  that  'The 
society  may  properly  issue  one  or  more  brief 
circulars  stating  its  nature  and  aims  in  rela- 
tion to  other  callings,  these  circulars  to  be 
bought  by  members  at  pleasure." 

Dinner  Session:   Hotel  Vendome,   Boston. 

Present:  Messrs.  Blaney,  Blossom,  Brinck- 
erhoff,  Caldwell,  Caparn,  Comey,  Fleming, 
Fowler,  Gallagher,  Gay,  Gibbs,  Hall,  Kella- 
way,  J.  C.  Olmsted,  Pond,  Reynolds,  C.  M.  Rob- 
inson, F.  A.  C.  Smith,  S.  C.  Smith  and  Vitale. 
Guests:  Messrs.  J.  C.  Sawyer,  S.  H.  White. 
R.  S.  Sturtevant,  T.  S.  Rogers. 

Following  the  dinner,  the  president  pre- 
sented his  annual  report  for  the  preceding 
year,  and  then  called  upon  Mr.  Kellaway, 
president  of  the  Boston  chapter,  who  referred 


to  the  work  of  the  chapter  during  the  past 
year  and  particularly  to  relations  with  the 
Boston  Metropolitan  Planning  League  with 
wliich   it  is  co-operating. 

Mr.  Vitale,  president  of  the  New  York  chap- 
ter, spoke  on  the  importance  of  the  existing 
Fellowship  in  Landscape  Architecture  at  the 
American  Academy  in  Rome.  Mr.  L^nderwood 
gave  the  principal  talk  of  the  evening,  entitled 
"Old  New  England  Gardens,"  illustrated  with 
slides  from  direct  color  photography.  The 
president  then  read  a  paper  by  Mr.  Thomas 
H.  Mawson  entitled  the  "Retrospect  and 
Prospect  of  Landscape  Architecture  in  Great 
Britain."  (See  "Landscape  Architecture," 
April,   1917.) 

Mr.  Reynolds  outlined  a  proposed  tour  of 
the  National  Parks  during  the  summer  of  1917 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Massachusetts  For- 
estry Association  and  Mr.  Gibbs  gave  an  ac- 
count of  the  Boston  Planning  Board's  project 
for  the  extension  of  Stuart  street  in  this  city. 
A  general  discussion  followed  in  which  Mr. 
Gibbs  answered  various  questions  as  to  traffic 
relief,  financing  the  scheme  and  various  other 
points. 

January  8,  1918.  Nineteenth  annual  meeting 
"Peg  WofTington  Coffee  House,'  New  York 
City. 

Present:  Messrs.  Blaney,  Brinckerhofif,  Cap- 
arn, Fowler,  Gay,  Geiffert,  Greenleaf,  Leavitt, 
Lowrie,  Manning,  Nichols,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  J. 
C.  Olmsted,  Parsons,  Pilat,  Pray,  Roy,  Vitale, 
Wheelwright.     Guest:  E.  G.  Davis. 

In  the  absence  of  the  secretary,  Mr.  De- 
Forest,  Mr.  BrinckcrhofF  was  appointed  sec- 
retary pro  tern.  Two  tellers  were  appointed 
to  count  the  votes  made  by  mail  ballot  of  the 
society  during  the  year  and  their  report  was 
read  and  accepted.  Report  of  the  auditors  to 
examine  the  treasurer's  statement  was  read 
and  accepted.  Report  of  the  secretary  was 
read  and  accepted.  Chapter  reports  were  sub- 
mitted from  New  York  and  Boston  and  are 
to  be  mailed  to  the  members  for  approval.  Re- 
ports of  the  various  committees  were  then 
taken  uj)  for  approval  or  discussion;  the  Com- 
mittee on  Fund  for  the  Prize  of  Rome,  Mr. 
Vitale,  chairman,  and  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Exhibitions,  Mr.  Noyes,  chairman, 
were  read  and  accepted.  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Relations  with  Trades,  Mr.  Vitale, 
chairman,  was  read  and  discussed  in  detail. 
In  regard  to  the  question  of  ethics,  it  was 
stated  that  nurserymen  endeavor  to  adhere  to 
ethical     acts    although     they     cannot     enforce 


40 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


rules  on  the  members  of  their  organization, 
and  Mr.  Caparn  pointed  out  that  inasmuch  as 
nursery  stock  is  perishable  it  might  be  put  in 
a  different  category  from  materials  of  other 
trades.  The  recommendation  that  all  "bills" 
for  nursery  stock  be  made  out  to  owners  and 
submitted  to  landscape  architects  for  approval 
was  endorsed,  as  well  as  the  recommendation 
that  "competitive  bidding"  was  to  be  dis- 
couraged. Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  moved  to  recom- 
mend to  the  Board  of  Trustees  that  this  com- 
mittee be  directed  to  take  steps  toward  having 
statements  prepared  expressing  fully  the  view 
of  the  several  chapters  on  bidding.  In  regard 
to  "guarantees,"  Mr.  Olmsted  submitted  the 
following,  which  was  carried: 

Voted:  That  it  is  desirable  to  have  a  state- 
ment prepared  setting  forth  definitely  the  re- 
spective obligations  and  responsibilities  of  the 
nurserymen  and  the  purchaser  in  regard  to  de- 
fective stock — (a)  when  orders  are  placed  in 
the  ordinary  course  of  business  without  special 
qualifications,  (b)  when  orders  are  placed  with 
a  proviso  that  the  stock  is  to  be  guaranteed 
by  the  nurseryman;  and 

That  this  statement  should  set  forth  the 
time  and  manner  of  inspection  of  the  stock 
and  notification  of  the  nurseryman  and  of  any 
transportation  agency  by  the  purchaser  in  or- 
der to  fix  the  responsibility  for  defective  stock 
promptly,  clearly  and  justly. 

Mr.  Vitale  explained  that  his  report  em- 
phasized the  nurseryman's  attitude  on  the 
various  questions  rather  than  that  of  the  land- 
scape architect  in  order  that  the  members  of 
our  organization  might  receive  enlightenment. 
Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  stated  that  the  nursery- 
men's attitude  on  contracting  covered  two 
separate  activities;  first,  furnishing  the  stock, 
and  second,  furnishing  and  planting  the  stock. 
In  the  first  instance  he  is  a  merchant,  in  the 
second  a  contractor.  He  recommended  the 
practice  of  employing  nurserymen  as  asso- 
ciates on  jobs. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Education 
was  submitted  in  outline  by  the  chairman. 
Professor  Pray. 

Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  asked  for  an  opportunity 
to  discuss  at  the  meeting  the  possible  means 
of  employment  of  landscape  architects  by  the 
government.  He  stated  that  he  would  like  to 
arrive  at  a  definite  conclusion  as  to  what  the 
compensation  of  landscape  architects  em- 
ployed on  government  work  during  the  war 
should  be.  He  said  the  question  had  come  up 
in  Washington  particularly  in  reference  to 
"Housing"  problems.     Mr.   Olmsted   said   that 


there  is  a  reasonable  prospect  that  the  govern- 
ment will  go  into  housing  projects,  including 
the  layout  of  streets,  public  utilities,  etc.  At 
present  the  only  money  available  for  this  work 
is  controlled  by  the  Shipping  Board.  There 
is  a  bill  pending  appropriating  funds  up  to  one 
hundred  million  dollars.  If  the  bill  passes, 
the  president  will  probably  appoint  a  commis- 
sion to  supervise  its  expenditure,  with  housing 
agencies  located  at  various  points  throughout 
the  country.  A  central  bureau  is  not  prac- 
ticable. Designing  should  be  delegated  to  pro- 
fessional organizations  under  the  control  of  a 
central  body  of  some  sort  to  be  created. 

Method  of  compensation  of  professional  as- 
sistants is  important;  various  professions  such 
as  architecture,  landscape  architecture,  and  en- 
gineering must  be  co-ordinated.  Mr.  Olmsted 
thought  the  best  results  were  to  be  obtained 
by  employing  several  professional  men  by  the 
government  or  contracting  company  having 
the  work  in  charge,  all  to  work  in  collabora- 
tion. The  head  of  the  group  might  be  a  lay- 
man. Mr.  Olmsted  said  that  on  the  whole  he 
felt  that  it  would  be  better  to  place  an  archi- 
tect at  the  head  of  such  a  group;  than  either 
an  engineer  or  a  landscape  architect.  The  plan 
of  procedure  might  be  for  each  group  to  con- 
fer informally  and  submit  a  preliminary  plan 
and  report.  Then  organize  by  putting  one  of 
its  members  at  the  head  of  the  group. 

The  question  of  compensation  is  unsettled. 
It  is  evident  that  all  direct  expenses  would  be 
paid.  The  cost  of  assistants  might  be  charged 
plus  100%  to  cover  overhead  expense  and  a 
definite  stated  fee  for  professional  services. 
The  preliminary  engineerixig  services  might  be 
placed  on  a  definite  fee  basis  in  proportion 
to  the  total  expenditure. 

Net  fee  of  $7,500  plus  1%  to  1%  is  a  possible 
fee  in  connection  with  the  proposed  housing 
schemes,  the  percentage  being  based  on  the 
entire  cost  of  the  undertaking.  Mr.  Olmsted 
said  he  objected  to  a  per  diem  basis,  also  a 
straight  percentage  basis.  He  rather  favored 
a  lump  sum  basis  of  charging.  Mr.  Nichols  of 
Minneapolis  related  his  experience  in  manag- 
ing the  layout  of  a  steel  plant  near  Duluth, 
Minn.  He  said  his  firm  charged  4%  on  a  two 
hundred  thousand  dollar  expenditure  plus  ex- 
pense. 

The  president  read  resolutions  drafted  by 
Mr.  Vitale,  on  the  recent  untimely  death  of 
Charles  Mulford  Robinson. 

Voted:  That  they  be  approved  and  forward- 
ed to  Mrs.  Robinson. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


41 


Annual  Dinner  and  Evening  Session.  Pres- 
ent: Messrs.  Blaney,  Briiickerhoflf.  Caparn. 
Fowler,  Gay,  Geiffert,  Greenleaf,  Leavitt,  Low- 
rie,  Manning,  Nichols,  N'olen,  F.  L.  Olmsted. 
J.  C.  Olmsted,  Parsons,  Pilat,  Pray.  Roy,  Vi- 
tale.     Guests:   Charles   Ewing,   E.   G.   Davis. 

During  the  dinner  greetings  were  read  from 
the  Minnesota  Chapter,  and  various  members 
of  the  society,  also  Thomas  H.  Mawson,  Lan- 
caster, England,  and  Mr.  E.  G.  Culpin.  secre- 
tary of  the  International  Garden  Cities  and 
Town  Planning  Association.  The  president 
announced  that  owing  to  the  war  no  compe- 
tition will  be  held  this  year  for  the  American 
Academy  in  Rome.  After  the  reading  of  the 
president's  annual  report,  Mr.  Charles  Ewing, 
of  Ewing  and  Chapel,  architects,  was  intro- 
duced and  described  his  experience  in  design- 
ing and  laying  out  the  cantonment  for  the 
Unites  States  navy  at  Pelham  Bay,  New  York. 
The  camp  provides  for  6,000  men  and  no  typi- 
cal plans  of  buildings  or  layout  had  been  pro- 
vided by  the  government,  so  that  the  entire 
scheme  had  to  be  created.  Mr.  Ewing  showed 
plans  of  the  work  and  stated  that  he  had  en- 
deavored to  minimize  the  amount  of  road  area 
as  much  as  possible.  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  de- 
scribed his  experiences  in  Washington  in  con- 
nection with  the  organization  work  and  the 
planning  of  the  various  army  cantonments 
throughout  the  country.  Other  members  who 
were  active  in  cantonment  work  and  who  spoke 
of  their  experiences  in  connection  with  this 
work  were  the  following: 

Professor  Pray  on  Camp  Funston,  Kansas. 

Mr.  Greenleaf  on  Camp  Lee,  Petersburg,  Va. 

Mr.  Pilat  on  Camp  Lewis,  Seattle,  Washing- 
ton. 

Mr.  Lowrie  on  Camp  Hancock,  .\ugusta, 
Ga.,  and  Camp  Gordon,  Atlanta,  Ga. 

Mr.  Manning  on  Camp  Sherman.  Chilli- 
cothe,  Ohio. 

Mr.  BrinckerhofF  on  Camp  Gordon,  .Atlanta, 
Ga. 

The  president  also  spoke  of  the  work  which 
Mr.  Schermerhorn  had  done  at  Camp  Wheeler, 
Macon,  Ga.,  stating  that  he  was  the  first  to  be 
engaged  as  designer  on  a  National  Guard 
camp,  and  that  he  is  now  in  active  service  as 
a  captain  of  the  sanitary  corps,  and  stationed 
at  Camp  Jackson,  Columbia,  S.  C. 

February  8,  1918.  Regular  meeting.  Harvard 
Union,  Cambridge.  , 

Present:  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Blaney,  Brincker- 
hoflf,  Caldwell,  Child,  Fowler,  Manning,  Nolen, 


J.  C.  Olmsted,  Pray,  ShurtleflF.  Guest:  Mr. 
Paul  R.  Smith. 

The  reading  of  the  minutes  of  the  previous 
meeting  was  waived,  .^fter  the  appointment 
of  tellers  to  count  and  report  on  ballots  re- 
ceived since  the  last  meeting,  the  president 
announced  that  reports  would  be  made  by  the 
four  standing  committees,  namely  those  on 
City  Planning,  National  Parks,  Policies  and 
Education.  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Edu- 
cation, Prof.  Pray,  chairman,  lead  to  an  in- 
teresting discussion  in  regard  to  the  Rome 
Scholarship.  The  question  having  been  raised 
by  Mr.  Nolen,  Professor  Pray  announced  that 
the  holder  of  the  Fellowship  in  Landscape 
Architecture  must,  in  normal  times,  spend  six- 
teen months  in  travel  outside  of  Italy  during 
his  three  year  course,  whereas  students  hold- 
ing fellowships  in  other  professions  were  re- 
quired to  so  spend  only  eight  months.  Mr. 
Nolen  asked  if  outside  travel  was  confined  to 
Europe,  and  Prof.  Pray  stated  that  it  prob- 
ably could  include  the  United  States  although 
the  .'\cademy  authorities  undoubtedly  felt  that 
it  would  include  only  Europe. 

Mr.  Olmsted  suggested  that  the  president 
be  asked  to  communicate  with  Landscape 
.'\rchitecture  with  a  view  to  publishing  a  sum- 
mary of  his  report  as  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Education.  Report  of  the  Standing 
Committee  on  National  Parks  was  read  by  Mr. 
Manning,  chairman.  He  made  a  feature  of  the 
point  brought  out  by  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Sr., 
who  issued  a  pamphlet  on  the  Yellowstone 
Park  in  1890,  that  no  obtrusive  buildings  or 
other  artificial  features  of  a  foreign  nature  and 
not  in  keeping  with  the  naturalistic  character 
of  the  parks  should  be  allowed.  The  report 
aroused  some  discussion  and  developed  the 
question  as  to  the  relation  between  the  Na- 
tional Park  Service  and  the  National  Forest 
Service  in  the  control  of  the  National  Park 
Reserves.  The  latter  assumes  the  attitude 
that  it  should  have  entire  control.  The  report 
also  raised  the  problem  as  to  the  control  and 
utilization  of  water  power  on  the  one  hand  as 
opposed  to  the  conserving  of  the  natural  beau- 
ty of  falls  and  water  courses  on  the  other. 

The  president  read  report  of  the  Standing 
Committee  on  Policies,  Mr.  Caparn,  chairman, 
this  included  the  recommendation  that  reports 
on  the  various  accepted  policies  should  receive 
wide  distribution.  The  Policy  on  National 
Highways  stirred  up  a  discussion  which 
brought  out  impressively  the  magnitude  of 
our  need  for  a  national  plan,  for  which,  of 
course,     a     comprehensive,     highly     organized 


42 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


system  of  national  highways  should  supply  the 
main  lines. 

Mr.  Blaney  reported  for  the  tellers  upon  the 
votes  passed  by  mail  ballot  of  the  society. 

December  7,  1918.  Special  meeting,  Hotel 
Harrington,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Present:  Messrs.  Brett,  Brinckerhoff,  Cap- 
arn,  Child,  Miss  Coffin,  Messrs.  Comey,  Cook, 
Cox,  Dawson,  DeForest,  Desmond,  Geiffert, 
Gibbs,  Greenleaf,  Hall,  Hare,  Herminghaus, 
Hubbard,  Kellaway,  Kruse,  Langdon,  Lowrie, 
McCrary,  Morell,  Nason,  Nichols,  Nicolet, 
Nolen,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Outhet,  Parce,  Parker, 
T.  G.  Phillips,  W.  L.  Phillips,  Pilat,  Pray, 
Pond,  Ramsdell,  Taylor,  Vitale.  Wheelwright, 
Whiting,  Wilcox,  Wyman.  Guests:  Mrs.  Fred- 
erick L.  Olmsted,  Jr.,  Mr.  W.  B.  Monroe,  Mr. 
H.  L.  Flint. 

This  meeting  was  undoubtedly  the  most 
largely  attended  and  most  enthusiastic  of  any 
gathering  in  the  history  of  the  society.  The 
most  important  matters  discussed  at  the  busi- 
ness session  were  the  following: 

Question  of  accepting  the  invitation  to  join 
the  corporation  known  as  the  "Wild  Gardens  of 
Acadia,"  the  purpose  of  which  is  to  conserve 
and  beautify  a  tract  of  land  in  Mt.  Desert, 
Maine. 

A  proposal  to  ofifer  a  medal  of  award  in 
landscape  architecture  for  meritorious  work, 
presented  for  the  annual  exhibition  at  Archi- 
tectural League  of  New  York.  Professor  Pray 
presented  for  discussion  the  proposal  by  Mr. 
Vitale  for  the  establishment  of  a  medal  in 
landscape  architecture  to  be  awarded  at  the 
annual  exhibition  of  the  Architectural  League 
of  New  York  and  read  extracts  from  corre- 
spondence from  Mr.  Vitale  covering  this  mat- 
ter. Discussion  elicited  from  Mr.  Vitale  the 
following  statements: 

First.  That  while  the  Architectural  League 
of  New  York  is  a  local  institution,  its  annual 
exhibition  is  national  in  character  and  open  to 
all  artists  in  the  country,  whether  they  are 
members  of  the  league  or  not. 

Second.  That  the  award  of  the  medal  would 
be  made  by  the  landscape  architects,  mem- 
bers of  the  jury. 

Third.  That  the  three  existing  medals  in 
painting,  sculpture  and  architecture  are  offered 
by  the  league.  Up  to  three  or  four  years  ago 
the  medal  in  architecture  was  offered  by  the 
N.  Y.  Chapter  of  the  A.  I.  A. 

Fourth.  That  the  cost  of  maintaining  the 
prize  which  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  might  eventually 
have  to  defray  is  about  $15  per  medal. 


The  principal  objections  to  the  project  as 
proposed  were  voiced  by  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted 
as  follows: 

First.  That  it  seemed  unwise  for  the  A.  S. 
L.  A.  as  a  national  organization  to  be  re- 
sponsible for  a  prize  to  be  awarded  by  a  local 
institution.  That  the  N.  Y.  Chapter  of  the 
A.  S.  L.  A.  might  more  appropriately  be  the 
sponsor  of  such  prize. 

Second.  That  the  cost  of  the  medal  be  de- 
frayed by  the  league  under  the  same  arrange- 
ment made  for  the  other  medals. 

It  was  voted  that  the  question  be  referred 
to  the  full  consideration  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees in  the  hope  that  some  satisfactory  ar- 
rangement might  be  devised. 

Committee  on  Exhibitions:  The  Committee 
on  Exhibitions,  Mr.  John  Noyes,  of  St.  Louis, 
chairman,  reported  to  the  Board  by  letter  that 
owing  to  the  war  conditions,  the  report  dating 
back  some  months,  it  had  seemed  advisable  to 
the  committee  to  delay  action,  but  while  the 
war  is  not  yet  ended,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the 
Board  that  the  Committee  on  Exhibitions 
should  be  immediately  informed  that  condi- 
tions now  favor  some  form  of  action  on  the 
part  of  this  committee. 

The  president  announced  that  the  Board  of 
Trustees  had  that  morning  approved  the  Con- 
stitution and  By-laws  of  the  Provisional  Pa- 
cific Coast  Chapter,  making  the  fifth  chapter 
in  the  society. 

He  also  announced  that  the  board  had  pro- 
posed to  reorganize  by  recommending  to  the 
membership  the  amendment  of  the  society  By- 
laws to  provide  for  increasing  the  number  of 
the  members  of  the  board  from  seven  to  nine; 
of  these  nine,  one  to  be  from  each  chapter, 
the  other  four  to  be  members  at  large,  so  far 
as  may  be  necessary,  the  board  also  has  pow- 
er to  vote  by  proxy.  On  motion  duly  made 
and  seconded  it  was 

Voted:  To  enlarge  the  Board  of  Trustees  as 
above  outlined. 

The  president  reported  the  action  of  the 
Board  of  Trustees  in  unanimously  voting  to 
recommend  to  the  society  the  formal  adoption 
of  the  Code  of  Plant  Names,  which  was  duly 
moved  and  carried.  He  then  read  a  letter  from 
Mr.  DeForest  reporting  on  the  Conference  on 
Reconstruction  in  Rochester  November  20  and 
23,  1918.  Mr.  DeForest  was  one  of  the  dele- 
gates appointed   to  represent  the  society. 

Mr.  Caparn  offered  a  resolution  which  after 
some  discussion  was  carried  by  the  meeting, 
copies  to  be  sent  to  the  membership  for  vote, 
as  follows: 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


43 


"Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  heartily  endorses  the 
spirit  of  the  platform  adopted  hy  the  National 
Municipal  League  Conference  on  Reconstruc- 
tion, at  Rochester,  on  November  22,  1918, 
favoring  government  encouragement  and  su- 
pervision of  the  proper  housing  of  industrial 
workers  as  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  an  en- 
lightened   public    opinion." 

Question  of  adopting  a  pin  or  I)adge  as  the 
official  insignia  of  the  society  was  proposed 
by  Thomas  H.  Desmond  and  a  resolution  was 
presented  and  passed  at  the  meeting  recom- 
mending the  appointment  of  a  special  com- 
mittee to  institute  a  competition  among  the 
members  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  for  the  selection 
of  such  insignia. 

Evening  Session:  Forty-two  members  and 
three  guests  were  present  at  the  dinner  in  the 
Hotel  Harrington  grill  room. 

President  Pray  presided  and  during  the  din- 
ner read  letters  of  regret  from  the  following 
absent  members:  Honorable  Charles  W.  Eliot, 
Arthur  A.  Shurtleff,  Emanuel  T.  Mische.  The 
president  offered  the  following  resolution,  ex- 
pressing a  vote  of  appreciation  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  society  of  the  work  of  Frederick 
Law  Olmsted. 

Whereas,  By  reason  of  our  country's  en- 
try into  the  present  world  war,  it  became  im- 
mediately necessary  that  (1)  a  large  number 
of  military  cantonments  and  other  military  and 
naval  camps  be  adequately  provided  in  the 
shortest  possible  time  in  order  to  accommo- 
date millions  of  men  during  their  period  of 
training  before  their  transport  overseas,  and 
(2)  adequate  housing  be  supplied  by  additions 
to  existing  communities  and  by  the  laying- 
out  and  building  of  entirely  new  communities 
for  millions  of  other  war  workers  behind  the 
lines;  and  the  speedy  accomplishing  of  these 
great  tasks  has  called  for  the  expert  service  of 
men  trained  and  experienced  in  planning  the 
lay-outs  of  communities. 

Whereas,  Members  of  the  profession  of 
Landscape  Architecture  and  particularly  mem- 
bers of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects,  have  been  privileged  to  serve  pro- 
fessionally in  these  most  responsible  planning 
tasks,  to  co-operate  with  other  related  profes- 
sions also  concerned,  and  particularly  to  bring 
their  measure  of  technical  equipment  to  bear 
in  the  service  of  our  country;  and  for  this  op- 
portunity, the  members  of  this  society  are 
primarily  indebted  to  the  patriotic  impulses  of 
Frederick  Law  Olmsted;  be  it,  and  it  hereby  is 


Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  desires,  first,  to  record 
its  clear  recognition  and  profound  appreciation 
of  the  abounding  initiative,  breadth  of  vision, 
and  unselfish  devotion  of  Frederick  Law  Olm- 
sted in  the  service  of  our  country;  and  second, 
to  record  its  grateful  appreciation  of  the  op- 
portunities which,  by  reason  of  his  initiative, 
have  come  to  its  members  for  doing  their  pro- 
fessional "bit"  toward  winning,  for  the  highest 
ideals  of  humanity,  the  greatest  war  in  human 
history. 

After  this  was  unanimously  carried,  there 
was  exhibited  to  the  meeting  the  plaster  cast 
of  a  large  scale  model  of  the  proposed  medal 
which  is  to  be  executed  in  bronze  and  present- 
ed to  Mr.  Olmsted  by  the  society  in  apprecia- 
tion of  his  services. 

Announcement  was  made  of  the  election  of 
Afr.  James  L.  Greenleaf  to  the  Federal  Com- 
mission of  Fine  Arts  and  resolutions  of  ap- 
preciation were  presented  in  behalf  of  Major 
George  Gibbs,  Jr.,  for  his  services  to  the  gov- 
ernment in  camp  planning  work  and  to  Henry 
\'.  Hubbard  for  his  work  in  the  Bureau  of  In- 
dustrial Housing  and  in  extending  the  knowl- 
edge and  usefulness  of  the  Profession  of  Land- 
scape Architecture. 

January  24,  1919.  Twentietli  aimual  meet- 
ing, at  the  Architectural  League  rooms,  New 
York   City. 

Present:  Mrs.  Beatrix  Farrand,  Messrs. 
Brinckerhoflf,  Blossom,  Caparn,  Child,  Des- 
mond. Fowler,  Gay,  Geiffert,  S.  Herbert  Hare. 
Hubbard,  Lay.  Lowrie,  Manning,  F.  L.  Olm- 
sted, Pond,  Pentecost,  Taylor,  Vitale,  Wheel- 
wright. 

The  following  reports  and  measures  were 
considered  and  acted  upon  favorably: 

Report  of  secretary  for  1918. 

Report  of  treasurer,  showing  a  balance, 
January    ],    1919,    of   $349. (i'>. 

Report  of  Publicity  Committee,  Phelps  Wy- 
man,  chairman,  endorsed  in  part. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Policies,  H.  A. 
Caparn,  chairman,  endorsed  in  part,  with 
recommendation  that  a  report  in  full  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  Board  of  Trustees  and  to  the 
Fellows,  for  action. 

Report  of  Committee  to  Defray  Society 
Debt,  T.  Glenn  Phillips,  chairman,  showed  that 
twenty-six  members  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  have 
subscribed  $355. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Town  Planning  and 
Industrial  Housing,  C.  R.  Parker,  chairman, 
accepted  with  revision  and  recommendation 
that   it   be   given   wide   publicity.      This   report 


44 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


as  revised  was  sent  to  J.  Horace  McFarland  at 
Washington  to  be  used  in  publicity  work. 

Report  of  the  Minnesota  Chapter. 

Report  of  the  New  York  Chapter. 

Report  of  the  Mid-West  Chapter. 

John  C.  Olmsted,  as  chairman  of  Sub-Com- 
mittee on  Professional  Practice  and  Ethics  re- 
ported by  letter  that  the  full  report  of  his 
committee  was  not  completed  and  asked  that 
his  committee  either  be  continued  or  that  a 
new  committee  be  appointed  to  continue  the 
work.  It  was  voted  to  recommend  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  new  committee. 

Messrs.  Hare  and  Blossom  were  appointed 
as  tellers  to  count  the  ballots;  their  report  was 
accepted. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Town  Plan- 
ning and  Industrial  Housing  when  modified 
included  the  following  principal  points,  which 
were  discussed  and  voted  upon  separately; 

Voted;  (1)  That  we  believe  that  the  govern- 
ment housing  projects,  both  of  the  United 
States  Housing  Corporation  and  of  the  United 
States  Shipping  Board  should  not  be  arbi- 
trarily discontinued,  neither  the  houses  nor 
any  of  the  community  features  necessary  to 
make  them  really  livable. 

The  senate  joint  resolution  to  stop  many  of 
the  Housing  Corporation's  projects  received 
an  adverse  report  by  the  Committe  in  the 
House,  and  the  Housing  Corporation  is  pro- 
ceeding as  planned.  However,  apparently  the 
Shipping  Board  is  seriously  contemplating 
closing  out  its  housing  projects. 

(2)  That  there  should  be  established  a  per- 
manent government  housing  and  town  planning 
bureau  for  research  and  propaganda  only. 

Apparently  this  can  be  most  readily  started 
by  the  Secretary  of  Labor  creating  a  division 
in  his  office — to  take  over  records  and  data  of 
the  United  States  Housing  Corporation  and 
presumably  those  of  the  United  States  Ship- 
ping Board. 

(3)  As  one  means  of  improvement  in  hous- 
ing, readily  obtainable,  secure  facilitation  of 
housing  finance.  Owing  to  the  complexity  of 
the  problem  it  would  seem  best  to  establish  a 
congressional  commission  to  report  a  complete 
scheme  at  a  later  date.  Mr,  Olmsted  has  been 
asked  by  the  Senate  Committee  on  Labor  and 
Education  to  submit  a  bill  for  this.  The 
scheme  would  probably  include  a  Federal 
Mortgage  Bank  which  as  the  Federal  Land 
Bank  does  for  farm  loans,  would  pool  all  first 
mortgage  loans,  these  to  be  long  terms  and 
amortizing  in  form,  and  sell  bonds,  thus  pro- 
viding  a   liquid   form   of   investment.     To    in- 


vestors these  will  be  so  superior  to  the  pres- 
ent individual  non-amortizing  mortgages  that 
they  can  be  floated  at  a  much  lower  rate  of  in- 
terest. Vast  amounts  of  capital  will  thereby 
be  released  at  low  rates — the  exact  converse 
of  the  present  intolerable   situation. 

A  letter  was  read  from  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted 
proposing  the  compilation  of  a  "landscape  in- 
dex" listing  the  objects  of  special  professional 
interest  to  landscape  architects  in  various 
parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  with  a 
brief  indication  of  what  makes  each  of  them 
interesting,  and  explicit  directions  as  to  how 
to  get  there  from  the  nearest  important  city. 
This  matter  is  to  be  taken  up  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  society  through  the  office  of  the 
secretary. 

The  report  of  the  auditors  was  submitted 
approving  the  treasurer's  financial  report  for 
1918. 

Dinner  and  Evening  Session.  Present:  Miss 
Marian  C.  Cofiin,  Messrs.  Blossom,  Brincker- 
hofif,  Caparn,  Child,  Cox.  Cook,  Dawson,  Des- 
mond, Fowler,  Gallagher,  Gay,  Geiflfert.  S. 
Herbert  Hare,  Hubbard,  Leavitt,  Lowrie,  Man- 
ning, F.  L.  Olmsted,  Pond,  Parsons,  Pente- 
cost, Vitale,  Wheelwright,  Whiting.  Guests; 
Col.  Henry  W.  Sackett,  Vice-President,  Ameri- 
can Scenic  and  Historic  Preservation  Society; 
Mr.  Richard  Child,  Government  Housing  Rep- 
resentative with  the  United  States  Housing 
Corporation  and  Emergency  Fleet  Corpora- 
tion; Miss  Rose  Standish  Nichols;  Mr.  Arthur 
Hill. 

In  the  absence  of  President  Pray,  Vice- 
President  Caparn  presided. 

The  chairman  read  from  the  January  issue 
of  the  American  Magazine  of  Art  a  letter  en- 
titled "Tribute  to  Frederick  Law  Olmsted" 
written  by  President  Woodrow  Wilson  to  Mr. 
Olmsted  upon  Mr.  Olmsted's  retirement  from 
the  National  Commission  of  Fine  Arts.  The 
letter  testified  to  the  splendid  service  Mr.  Olm- 
sted has  rendered,  not  only  as  a  member  of 
the  commission,  but  as  a  leading  worker  with 
the  United  States  Housing  Corporation  in  its 
war  emergency   housing. 

Col.  Henry  W.  Sackett  was  then  introduced, 
and  spoke  on  Soldiers'  Memorial  Cemeteries 
and  the  Activities  of  the  American  Scenic  and 
Historic  Preservation  Society,  of  which  he  is 
vice-president.  He  described  the  accomplish- 
ment of  France  in  connection  with  the  es- 
tablishment of  cemeteries.  He  said  France 
offered  both  England  and  America  land  and 
facilities  in  France  for  the  establishment  of 
cemeteries.      England    declined,    and    has    ar- 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


45 


ranged  for  soldiers'  cemeteries  to  be  estab- 
lished and  maintained  entirely  at  her  own  ex- 
pense. France  has  thus  done  her  part,  and 
England  hers.  America  has  yet  to  announce 
her  policy.  He  urged  every  effort  be  exerted 
to  stimulate  and  guide  the  action  of  the  au- 
thorities in  Washington.  He  suggested  that 
the  A.  S.  L.  A.  appoint  a  committee  to  co- 
operate with  a  committee  of  the  American 
Historic  and  Preservation  Society  to  forward 
the  movement.  Mr.  Caparn  announced  that  a 
committee  on  memorial  cemeteries  had  al- 
ready been  appointed  and  that  it  would  be  in- 
structed to  co-operate  with  other  committees 
in  furthering  this  work  and  report  at  an  early 
date. 

Mr.  Child  spoke  on  War  Emergency  Housing 
and  gave  a  comparative  description  of  the  de- 
velopments, particularly  of  the  Emergency  Fleet 
Corporation,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

Mr.  Olmsted  asked  Mr.  Child  to  express  his 
views  as  to  what  form  the  organization  of  the 
management  of  the  government  housing  com- 
munities would  take.  Mr.  Child  stated  that  no 
policy  has,  as  yet,  been  established.  To  sell 
the  homes  outright  and  give  free  play  to  the 
purchaser  would  be  a  serious  mistake  as  it 
would  lead  to  the  impairment  of  the  neighbor- 
hood and  consequent  damage  to  adjoining 
dwellers.  He  recommended  a  system  similar 
to  the  English  co-partnership  plan,  by  which 
the  purchaser  invests  in  the  purchase  of  the 
entire  community  on  an  easy  payment  plan 
and  thus  becomes  a  householder,  but  has  a 
vital  interest  in  the  welfare  and  upkeep  of  the 
community.  The  present  policy  of  the  Fleet 
Corporation  he  stated,  is  to  make  no  individual 
sales.  Nothing  can  be  done  toward  the  in- 
telligent establishment  of  rates  until  cost  prices 
have  returned  to  normal. 

On  inquiry  from  Mr.  Vitale  as  to  how  our 
society  could  best  offer  its  services  to  the  gov- 
ernment in  the  development  of  war  memorial 
cemeteries.  Col.  Sackett  stated  that  the  gov- 
ernment had  received  most  cordial  support 
from  the  Red  Cross,  and  that  funds  for  the 
work  may  come  through  the  Red  Cross.  Sen- 
ator Morgan,  however,  has  introduced  a  bill 
appropriating  money  to  cover  cost  of  acquir- 
ing land  in  France  and  maintaining  the  ceme- 
teries. He  suggested  that  steps  should  be 
taken  immediately  through  the  work  of  com- 
mittees to  assist  with  the  movement. 

Mr.  Vitale  explained  the  progress  that  had 
been  made  in  connection  with  the  arrange- 
ments for   the  award   of   medal   in    Landscape 


Architecture.  He  announced  that  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Architectural  League  agreed 
to  awarding  the  medal  on  the  same  terms  as 
the  other  medals  of  award  and  under  rules  of 
competition  to  be  dictated  by  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 
He  explained  the  character  of  the  annual  ex- 
hibition by  the  League. 

March  7,  1919.  Annual  Boston  meeting, 
Lombardy   Inn,   Boston. 

Present:  Miss  Kimball,  Messrs.  Blaney, 
Brinckerhoff,  Caldwell,  Hubbard,  Kellaway,  J. 
C.  Olmsted,  Pray,  Reynolds,  Shurtleff,  Under- 
wood. 

Favorable  action  was  taken  by  the  members 
present  on  the  following  matters: 

Regarding  the  announcement  in  the  last 
number  of  the  Journal  of  the  International 
Garden  Club  in  reference  to  the  traveling  ex- 
hibit of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.,  it  was  voted  that  the 
secretary  should  be  directed  to  notify  John 
Noyes,  chairman  of  the  committee  to  endeavor 
to  have  a  similar  announcement  inserted  in 
subsequent  issues  of  the  Journal. 

Regarding  the  Landscape  Index,  it  was 
voted  that  the  secretary  should  be  directed  to 
request  each  member  to  send  him  a  list  of 
such  executed  projects  as  would  be  worth 
visiting,  with  necessary  directions  as  to  how 
to  reach  them. 

Voted:  That  the  secretary  should  be  direct- 
ed to  obtain  estimates  for  publishing  the  so- 
ciety membership  list  in  "Landscape  Archi- 
tecture." 

Voted:  That  in  selecting  a  Fellow  to  repre- 
sent the  A.  S.  L.  A.,  Inc.,  in  the  American 
Academy  in  Rome,  it  is  very  important  to  se- 
lect one  clearly  qualified  in  powers  of  produc- 
tive research. 

Voted:  That  the  Committee  on  Education 
should  issue  a  questionnaire  to  obtain  from  all 
practicing  members  their  opinions  as  to  what 
qualifications  students  should  meet  to  qualify 
for  positions  in  their  offices. 

Mention  was  made  of  a  bill  pending  in  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  restricting  the  use 
of  bill-boards  and  it  was  suggested  that  the 
secretary  send  to  Harris  A.  Reynolds,  who  is 
actively  engaged  in  furthering  this  bill,  a  copy 
of  the  formulated  policy  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A., 
Inc.,  covering  "bill-boards."  Messrs.  Hubbard 
and  Kellaway  presented  the  following  resolu- 
tion: 

Whereas,  A  bill  to  provide  for  the  Restric- 
tion and  Regulation  of  Advertising  on  Public 
Ways  and  Public  Places  and  on  Private  Pro- 
perty Within  Public  View,  such  bill  being  a  sub- 


46 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


stitute  for  Senate  Bill  No.  227,  is  now  before 
the  general  court  of  Massachusetts,  for  action 
in  accordance  with  the  Constitutional  Amend- 
ment recently  adopted  which  provides  for  the 
restriction   of  such  advertising,   and 

Whereas,  This  bill  is  in  harmony  with  the 
policy  regarding  bill-boards,  which  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Landscape  Architects  has 
officially  pledged  itself  to  support,  be  it 

Resolved,  Therefore,  at  the  annual  Boston 
meeting  of  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  now  assembled  that  this  so- 
ciety approves  of  this  bill  and  urges  its  pass- 
age. 

Dinner  Session.  Present:  Messrs.  Blaney, 
Brinckerhoff,  Caldwell,  Dawson,  Hubbard, 
Kellaway,  Manning,  J.  C.  Olmsted,  Pond, 
Pray,  Shurtlefl,  Stiles,  Underwood.  Guests: 
Messrs.  F.  A.  Wilson,  J.  Hugh  Smith,  William 
H.  Punchard. 

The  president  announced  that  he  was  pre- 
paring a  report  on  the  proposed  revision  of 
the  By-laws;  among  other  matters  included  in 
this  revision  will  be  a  proposal  to  eliminate 
the  term  "Junior"  in  classifying  the  members 
and  substitute  the  general  term  "Member." 

Mr.  Warren  H.  Manning  was  called  upon  to 
describe  his  work  for  the  Massachusetts  Com- 
mission for  the  Employment  of  Discharged 
Soldiers.  He  said  his  interest  in  studying  the 
natural  resources  of  New  England  began  some 
years  ago  in  preparing  reports  for  the  Pana- 
ma-Pacific Exposition.  He  stated  that  he  was 
now  indirectly  employed  by  the  Soldiers'  Land 
Commission  in  studying  the  agricultural  re- 
sources of  New  England  with  a  view  of  em- 
ploying returning  soldiers  in  agricultural  pur- 
suits. It  has  been  found  that  the  available 
western  lands  have  all  been  taken  up  and  that 
it  is  now  necessary  to  reclaim  the  agricultural 
lands  of  the  east.  The  eastern  lands  are  po- 
tentially very  fertile.  The  result  of  the  irriga- 
tion projects  of  the  west  have  not  come  up  to 
expectations.  Half  of  the  state  of  Massachu- 
setts is  assessed  at  only  ten  dollars  per  acre, 
all  of  which  goes  to  indicate  that  there  is  a 
very  fair  prospect  of  success  in  reclaiming  the 
lands  of  the  east.  Mr.  Manning  said  he  ex- 
pected to  map  the  entire  state,  showing  gra- 
phically the  various  types  of  soil.  He  showed 
several  government  geological  survey  maps 
which  he  would  utilize  in  this  work,  and  pre- 
liminary maps  which  he  had  already  prepared. 
It  is  the  intention  of  the  federal  government 
to  establish  colonies  of  100  workers  each.  The 
colonies  would  be  run  on  a  co-operative  basis, 


with  state  and  federal  aid,  including  long  term 
payments  for   land. 

Mr.  Arthur  ShurtlefT,  a  member  of  the  Bos- 
ton Committee  on  War  Memorials  described 
his  activities  and  the  progress  that  had  been 
made  by  his  committee.  He  stated  that  he 
was  not  privileged  as  yet  to  announce  any  of 
the  findings  of  the  committee,  but  he  described 
in  an  interesting  and  humorous  way  the  many 
proposals  that  had  been  advanced,  and  some 
of  the  possibilities. 

Professor  Pray  stated  that  the  Belgian  Com- 
mittee was  now  employed  in  collecting  ma- 
terial on  civic  and  town  planning  problems 
from  all  countries.  Our  committee  has  al- 
ready collected  much  material,  but  owing  to 
postal  restrictions  the  committee  has  been  un- 
able to  forward  it  to  Belgium.  He  stated  that 
there  is  better  opportunity  to  serve  in  recon- 
structing Belgian  communities  than  French 
communities. 

It  was  proposed  by  the  Belgian  Committee 
that  "City  Planning  Progress"  as  published 
under  the  editorship  of  George  B.  Ford  in  1916 
be  translated  and  included  in  the  cyclopedia 
which  the  Belgian  Committee  is  preparing. 
Mr.  Hubbard  called  attention  to  the  fact  that 
the  report  of  the  recent  work  of  the  Housing 
Corporation  and  Shipping  Board  would  be  of 
greater  value  than  the  above  publication.  It 
was  suggested  by  Professor  Pray  that  the 
translation  of  Mr.  Ford's  books  might  proper- 
ly be  put  before  the  American  Institute  of 
Architects  as  it  more  directly  concerned  them 
than  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  He  stated,  however,  that 
the  A.  S.  L.  A.  committee  is  the  official  rep- 
resentative of  the  Belgian  Committee  in  this 
country.  Major  Pond  referred  to  the  report 
now  being  prepared  by  the  Construction  Divi- 
sion covering  port  terminal  work  as  being 
particularly  applicable  to  the  purpose  of  the 
committee  as  it  would  have  value  or  use  in 
peace  time. 

It  was  announced  by  the  president  that  as  a 
result  of  the  joint  conference  in  Philadelphia 
on  Town  Planning  and  Housing  held  in 
January  last,  the  following  statement  had  been 
prepared: 

1.  Resolved,  That  the  government  housing 
projects,  both  of  the  United  States  Housing 
Corporation  and  of  the  United  States  Shipping 
Board  should  not  be  arbitrarily  discontinued, 
neither  the  houses  nor  any  of  the  community 
features  necessary  to  make  them  really  liv- 
able. 

The  senate  joint  resolution  to  stop  many  of 
the    Housing    Corporation's    projects    received 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITFXTS 


47 


an  adverse  report  by  the  committee  in  the 
house,  and  the  Housing  Corporation  is  pro- 
ceeding as  planned.  However,  apparently  the 
Shipping  Board  is  seriously  contemplating 
closing  out  its  housing  projects. 

2.  Resolved,  That  there  should  be  established 
a  permanent  government  housing  and  town 
planning  bureau  for  research  and  propaganda 
only. 

Apparently  this  can  be  most  readily  started 
by  the  Secretary  of  Labor  creating  a  division 
in  his  office — to  take  over  records  and  data  of 
the  United  States  Housing  Corporation  and 
presumably  those  of  the  United  States  Ship- 
ping Board. 

3.  Resolved.  .'\s  one  means  of  improvement 
in  housing,  readily  obtainable,  secure  faci- 
litation of  housing  finance.  Owing  to  the  com- 
plexity of  the  problem  it  would  seem  best  to 
establish  a  congressional  commission  to  report 
a  complete  scheme  at  a  later  date.  Mr.  Olm- 
sted has  been  asked  by  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Labor  and  Education  to  submit  a  bill  for 
this.  The  scheme  would  probably  include  a 
Federal  Mortgage  Bank,  which,  as  the  Federal 
Land  Bank  does  for  farm  loans,  would  pool 
all  first  mortgage  loans,  these  to  be  long  term 
and  amortizing  in  form,  and  sell  bonds,  thus 
providing  a  liquid  form  of  investment.  To  in- 
vestors these  will  be  so  superior  to  the  pres- 
ent individual  non-amortizing  mortgages  that 
they  can  be  floated  at  a  much  lower  rate  of 
interest.  Vast  amounts  of  capital  will  thereby 
be  released  at  low  rates — the  exact  converse 
of  the  present  intolerable  situation. 

Mr.  F.  A.  Wilson,  of  Nahant,  Mass.,  who 
was  a  guest  of  Mr.  Dawson,  and  who  has 
been  active  as  an  employer  of  labor  in  adjust- 
ing labor  disputes,  was  asked  to  speak  in- 
formally on  the  present  labor  situation.  He 
referred  to  the  activities  of  the  Master  Build- 
ers' Association  of  Boston,  which  had  issued 
a  report  on  the  situation.  Three  alternatives 
were  suggested:  1.  Continue  to  drift.  2.  Fight. 
3.  Endeavor  to  start  labor  and  capital  to- 
gether. 

Mr.  Wilson  said  that  the  national  labor 
leaders  had  been  lilieral  in  their  views  and 
activities  but  that  local  leaders  were  small  and 
petty  and  inclined  to  cause  trouble. 

January  6,  1920.  Twenty-first  annual  meet- 
ing and  dinner,  .Architectural  League,  New 
York  City. 

Present:  Messrs.  Blossom,  Brinckerhoff, 
Caparn,  Child,  Clarke,  Dawson,  Desmond,  El- 
wood,  Fleming,  Gay,  Geiffert,  Greenleaf,  Hub- 


bard, Lay,  Leavitt,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Pilat,  Tay- 
lor,  Tealdi,   Vitale,   Wheelwright. 

The  annual  report  of  the  secretary  was 
read  and  accepted.  This  report  showed  a 
membership  in  the  society  of  one  hundred  and 
eight,  divided  as  follows:  Fellows,  51,  Voting 
Members,  33,  Members,  19,  Associates,  3, 
Honorary  2.  The  report  also  showed  the  fol- 
lowing more  important  measures  passed  by 
mail   ballot  of  the  society  during  the  year: 

1.  To  approve  the  admission  of  the  Pro- 
visional Pacific  Coast  Chapter  as  a  regular 
Chapter  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.,  Inc. 

2.  To  approve  the  proposal  to  establish  a 
medal  for  meritorious  works  in  Landscape 
Architecture,  Architectural  League  of  New 
York. 

3.  To  approve  the  amendment  to  the  By- 
laws to  increase  the  annual  dues  of  Fellows 
to  twenty-five  dollars  per  year  and  of  Juniors 
to  ten  dollars  per  year,  this  measure  to  apply 
to  current  year. 

4.  To  accept  the  invitation  to  join  the 
"Wild   Gardens  of  Acadia." 

5.  To  approve  the  adoption  of  the  official 
code  of  standardized  plant  names. 

7.  To  approve  the  proposal  to  ratify  all 
contracts,  acts,  proceedings,  elections,  and  ap- 
pointments which  have  been  made  or  taken 
liy  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  society  dur- 
ing the  years  1917  and  1918. 

9.  To  approve  the  memorandum  in  regard 
to  payment  of  bills  for  nursery  stock  ordered 
by  landscape  architects  on  account  of  clients. 

10.  To  approve  the  "statement  of  obliga- 
tions which  are  normally  implied  by  the  plac- 
ing, and  acceptance  of  all  orders  for  nursery 
stock  in  the  absence  of  specific  stipulations  to 
some  other  effect." 

11.  To  approve  the  statement  as  to  "dis- 
couraging the  guarantee  of  nursery  stock" 
and  to  approve  the  standard  form  of  contract. 

12.  Policy  No.  2 — The  A.  S.  L.  A.,  is  op- 
posed to  the  erection  in  public  parks  of  build- 
ings other  than  those  required  for  park  pur- 
poses. 

13.  Policy  No.  3— The  A.  S.  L.  A.  is  op- 
posed to  the  diversion  of  land  which  has  once 
been  set  apart  for  the  public  recreation  until 
an  overwhelming  public  need  for  such  diver- 
sion has  been  convincingly  shown,  or  until  it 
is  shown  that  an  exchange  of  land  will  un- 
questionably give  the  community  more  than 
it  loses. 

14.  Policy  No.  4 — The  A.  S.  L.  A.  favors 
local  regulation  and  taxing  of  billboards  and 
other    outdoor    advertising     signs,     more    es- 


48 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


pecially  because  they  usually  impair  the 
amenity  of  the  district  in  which  they  occur. 

15.  Policy  No.  5 — The  A.  S.  L.  A.  believes 
that  additions  should  be  made  to  the  number 
of  our  National  and  State  Parks  as  oppor- 
tunity arises,  with  the  object  of  preserving 
examples  of  our  most  characteristic,  rare  and 
rapidly  decreasing  natural  scenery  against  en- 
croachment by  economic  forces. 

The  report  of  the  Examining  Board  was 
read  and  approved,  as  was  also  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Exhibitions  and  of  the 
standing  Committee  on  Professional  Practice 
and  Ethics.  Mr.  Taylor  announced  that  the 
statement  had  been  mailed  to  all  members  and 
that  the  committee  would  welcome  any  sug- 
gestions for  its  improvement.  Various  other 
committee  reports  were  read  and  accepted,  and 
the  president  presented  one  from  the  Standing 
Committee  on  Relations  with  Trades,  which 
included  (1)  copy  of  the  report  of  the  meeting 
of  the  Joint  Committee,  January  24,  1919,  (3) 
copy  of  the  statement  "Obligations  Which 
are  Normally  Implied  by  the  Placing  and  Ac- 
ceptance of  an  Order,"  etc.,  (3)  copy  of  form- 
al agreements  covering  issuance  of  nursery 
stock.  A  discussion  of  the  fundamental  points 
involved  in  this  report  was  asked  for  by  the 
president.  Mr.  Dawson  stated  that  in  his 
opinion  thirty  days  was  too  short  a  period  af- 
ter the  receipt  of  nursery  stock  for  the  ap- 
proval of  nursery  bills,  and  Mr.  Lay  agreed 
with  him.  Mr.  Dawson  thought  that  under 
no  circumstances  should  nurserymen  take  up 
the  matter  of  payment  directly  witli  the  clients. 
Mr.  Leavitt  stated  that  on  all  orders  from  his 
office  there  is  a  printed  statement  that  the  or- 
der is  made  for  the  client  and  on  his  credit 
and  that  the  order  is  given  with  the  under- 
standing that  the  price  was  the  lowest  that 
the  nursery  receiving  the  order  would  quote 
to  anyone.  Mr.  Taylor  explained  that  he  ac- 
companied all  approved  bills  with  a  letter 
stating  that  all  further  business  should  be  be- 
tween the  nurserymen  and  the  client.  A  vote 
of  the  members  present  was  taken  which 
showed  that  twelve  members  felt  that  thirty 
days  was  too  short  a  period  to  allow  for  pay- 
ing nursery  bills  while  eight  considered  it 
long  enough.  Mr.  Hubbard  proposed  that 
nurserymen  should  notify  the  landscape  archi- 
tect when  they  wished  to  take  up  the  matter 
of  the  bill  direct  with  the  client. 

The  report  of  the  Standing  Committee  on 
Town  Planning  and  Industrial  Housing  was 
read  and  the  president  stated  that  a  copy  of 
this  report  would  be   mailed  to   all   members. 


Mr.  Caparn,  chairman  of  the  Special  Commit- 
tee on  Policies,  proposed  the  following  new 
policies  to  be  formulated  and  considered,  1. 
Town  Planning  and  Housing,  2.  War  Me- 
morials, 3.  State  and  City  Art  Commissions. 
It  was  the  sense  of  the  meeting  that  the  above 
policies  should  be  prepared  for  the  considera- 
tion of  the  members.  Mr.  T.  Glenn  Phillips 
reported  that  during  the  past  three  years  $600 
has  been  subscribed  by  the  members  to  defray 
the  society  debt  which  amounted  to  $500  and 
a  rising  vote  of  thanks  was  taken  in  apprecia- 
tion of  Mr.  Phillips'  efficient  work.  The 
treasurer's  report  was  presented  in  summarized 
form  for  each  year,  1912-1920.  Mr.  F.  L.  Olm- 
sted reported  orally  for  the  Committee  on 
Plant  Nomenclature,  stating  that  the  joint 
committee  had  not  met  during  the  past  year, 
but  the  sub-committee  had  been  very  busy 
and  was  planning  to  meet  in  Washington  for 
one  week  in  the  near  future.  He  added  that 
the  new  report  would  include  all  herbacious 
plants,  as  listed  in  the  principal  nursery  cata- 
logues. The  incidental  expenses  of  this  work 
had  been  met  by  funds  contributed  by  the 
constitutent  organizations,  excepting  the  A.  S. 
L.  A.;  it  will  be  necessary  to  raise  a  substantial 
fund  to  print  the  report,  this  brought  up  the 
question  of  selling  advertisement  space  to  a 
representative  list  of  nurserymen.  A  vote  of 
those  present  on  this  question  showed  thir- 
teen in  favor  and  three  opposed. 

President  Olmsted  announced  in  reference 
to  the  Fellowship  in  Rome,  that  the  Board  of 
Trustees  had  voted  to  authorize  the  chairman 
of  the  Standing  Committee  on  Education  to 
recommend  the  extension  of  Mr.  Lawson's 
term  for  six  months.  It  was  also  voted  to 
authorize  sending  a  second  Fellow  to  Rome, 
his  term  to  begin  October,  1920,  and  to  enter 
into  a  formal  agreement  with  the  trustees  of 
the  Academy  regarding  the  second  Fellowship. 

Mr.  Taylor,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
A.  S.  L.  A.  Annuary  announced  that  he  had 
obtained  an  estimate  of  $750  to  print  100 
copies  of  a  report  of  112  pages,  modeled  after 
the  A.  I.  A.  Annual. 

Dinner  Session.  Present:  Mrs.  Farrand, 
Messrs.  Blossom,  Brinckerhoff,  Caparn,  Child, 
Chamberlain,  Clarke,  Dawson,  Desmond,  El- 
wood,  Fleming,  Gay,  Geiffert,  Greenleaf,  Hub- 
bard, Lay,  Manning,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Pilat, 
Saltus,  Taylor,  Vitale,  Wheelwright.  Guests 
of  the  society:  Mr.  Burt  L.  Fenner,  Mr.  D. 
Everett  Waid,  Mr.  Alfred  D.  Flinn;  of  mem- 
bers:  E.   Gorton  Davis,   F.  A.  Davis. 

After   dinner   F.   L.   Olmsted,   who  presided, 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


49 


announced  that  the  evening's  discussion  would 
be  devoted  to  the  question  of  compulsory  legal 
registration  of  landscape  architects,  architects 
and  engineers.  He  explained  a  peculiar  situa- 
tion which  confronted  one  of  our  members, 
practicing  in  Oregon,  who  was  compelled  to 
register  legally  as  an  architect  because  the 
state  law  was  such  as  to  compel  anyone  using 
the  word  architect  in  their  practice  to  conform 
to  the  law  afifecting  architects. 

Mr.  Burt  L.  Fenner,  member  of  the  firm  of 
McKim,  Mead  and  White  was  introduced  as 
the  first  speaker.  He  stated  that  the  matter 
of  registration  of  architects  goes  back  twenty 
years.  Early  laws  were  licensing  laws  such 
as  those  applied  to  plumbers  and  artisans. 
The  laws  are  now  based  on  educational  quali- 
fications. These  laws  lead  to  abuses,  regis- 
tered architects,  for  instance,  giving  the  use 
of  their  name  for  a  remuneration  to  unregis- 
tered architects.  Mr.  Fenner  stated  that  he 
had  doubts  if  today  the  majority  of  practicing 
architects  believe  that  registration  laws  are 
desirable.  State  after  state,  however,  is  adopt- 
ing registration  laws.  Architects  are  there- 
fore compelled  to  take  an  active  interest  in 
the  matter.  Mr.  D.  Everett  Waid,  he  said, 
who  was  present  at  the  dinner,  was  more  than 
any  other  person  responsible  for  the  present 
law  affecting  architects.  The  law  prevents  the 
use  of  the  title  arcliitect  except  by  those  pass- 
ing a  fairly  severe  examination.  Those  in 
practice  previous  to  the  passage  of  the  law 
were  not  affected.  He  felt  that  there  would 
be  no  advantage  to  landscape  architects  in 
urging  registration  laws. 

Mr.  D.  Everett  Waid  followed  Mr.  Fenner. 
He  said  his  professional  experience  began  as 
a  licensed  architect  in  Illinois  where  all  prac- 
ticing architects  were  compelled  to  have  a 
state  license.  The  first  registration  law  was 
passed  twenty-two  years  ago.  The  first  ac- 
tivity of  the  New  York  Chapter  of  the  A.  I.  A. 
was  in  fighting  the  passage  of  registration 
laws.  Now  we  have  eighteen  states  with  such 
laws.  New  York  was  the  eighth  state  to  pass 
a  registration  law.  He  said  he  preferred  the 
term  "registration"  to  the  term  "licensing 
laws."  The  present  law  requires  a  college  edu- 
cation with  three  years  practical  education  for 
one  to  practice  under  the  law  without  taking 
the  prescribed  examination.  The  right  educa- 
tion law  is  an  encouragement  to  good  educa- 
tion. 

Mr.  Alfred  D.  Flinn,  Secretary  of  the  United 
Engineering  Societies  was  next  introduced. 
He  said  the  work  of  the  three  professions  rep- 


resented is  so  closely  allied  that  they  cannot 
be  clearly  disassociated.  Engineers  have  been 
driven  to  legal  registration  through  self  de- 
fense. Those  less  experienced  than  full 
fledged  professional  engineers  have  been  most 
active  in  advocating  licensing  laws.  The  ex- 
perienced men  have  been  more  active  in  op- 
posing such  laws.  He  said  there  is  no  satis- 
factory definition  of  engineering.  The  gen- 
erally accepted  opinion  is  that  the  only  valid 
excuse  for  passing  laws  controlling  the  prac- 
tice of  a  profession  is  protection  to  life,  health 
and  property.  There  are  nine  states  in  w-hich 
laws  have  been  passed  compelling  the  licensing 
of  engineers.  A  joint  committee  of  six,  three 
architects  and  three  engineers  has  been  ap- 
pointed to  meet  in  a  few  days  to  consider  this 
problem. 

Mr.  Manning  read  an  advertisement  which 
he  had  cut  from  a  periodical  soliciting  stud- 
ents to  subscribe  to  a  correspondence  course 
in  landscape  architecture  and  qualify  for  the 
school's  diploma,  which  would  enable  them  to 
practice  the  profession.  It  was  the  consensus 
of  opinion  that  regardless  of  the  misleading 
effect  of  such  an  advertisement  and  the  in- 
justice which  might  result  from  it,  it  would 
be  inexpedient  for  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  to  take 
active  steps  to  combat  it. 

February  17,  1920.  Annual  Boston  meeting, 
American  Academy  of  .\rts  and  Sciences,  Bos- 
ton. 

Present:  Miss  Kimball,  Messrs.  Brett, 
Brinckerhoff,  Comey,  Cox,  Hubbard,  Kella- 
way,  Kennard,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Parker,  Pilat, 
Pond,   Pray,  Shurtleff,  Steele. 

President  Olmsted  presented  a  report,  which 
was  approved  by  the  meeting,  from  Mr.  Child 
who  was  appointed  a  committee  of  one  to  in- 
vestigate and  report  on  the  project,  "To  Create 
a  National  Park  and  Forest  on  the  Confines 
of  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  Forest  Areas 
of  Prince  George,  Arundle,  and  Montgomery 
Counties,  Maryland."  This  report  was  fav- 
orable to  the  project  and  included  a  resolution 
recommending  the  creation  by  Congress  of  a 
Regional  Plan  Commission.  A  statement  on 
"Suggested  Form  of  War  Memorials"  accom- 
panying the  report  of  the  Committee  on  War 
Memorials,  C.  M.  Lowrie,  chairman,  was  pre- 
sented to  the   meeting  and  it  was 

Voted:  That  this  statement  and  the  sub- 
stance of  Mr.  Child's  report  be  put  in  the 
hands  of  the  Standing  Committee  on  Publicity 
with    the    request    that    they    take    immediate 


so 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


steps  toward  circulation  of  this  material  in  the 
public   press. 

The  report  of  the  Standing  Committee  on 
Publicity,  Phelps  Wyman,  chairman,  was  read 
by  the  president  and  the  various  points  em- 
phasized therein  were  discussed  informally; 
the  consensus  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the  quar- 
terly magazine,  "Landscape  Architecture"  was 
that  the  technical  character  of  the  paper  should 
be  retained  but  that  it  would  be  most  desirable 
to  increase  its  circulation.  Report  of  the 
Special  Committee  on  Professional  Registra- 
tion, F.  L.  Olmsted,  chairman,  was  read  as 
well  as  a  letter  from  the  president  of  the  Min- 
nesota Chapter  in  regard  to  the  legal  regis- 
tration of  engineers,  architects,  and  land  sur- 
veyors, as  affecting  landscape  architects.  Mr. 
Olmsted  explained  that  inasmuch  as  a  consti- 
tutional basis  for  such  registration  laws  is 
under  the  "police  power"  of  the  state  for  the 
safeguarding  of  life,  health  and  property,  there 
is  no  serious  danger  of  permanent  laws  work- 
ing to  the  disadvantage  of  landscape  archi- 
tects. 

Professor  Pray  presented  a  letter  announc- 
ing the  formation  of  the  Iowa  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects;  this  was  from  Profes- 
sor Culley,  Iowa  State  College,  and  he  stated 
that  he  looked  forward  to  its  becoming  at 
some  future  time  a  chapter  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 
Discussion  on  the  subject  showed  favorable 
sentiment  toward  this  idea  but  it  was  ex- 
plained that  before  it  could  be  brought  about 
those  composing  the  Iowa  Society  would  all 
have  to  become  members  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 
and  with  at  least  three  Fellows. 

Professor  Pray  read  a  letter  from  Mr.  A.  H. 
Carhart,  recreational  engineer,  Denver,  Colo- 
rado, who  is  active  in  the  recreational  develop- 
ment of  National  Forests.  This  letter  ex- 
plained the  nature  of  his  work  and  called  at- 
tention to  the  endeavors  of  foresters  to  en- 
croach on  what  is  essentially  landscape  archi- 
tects' work,  but  for  which  they  are  not  ade- 
quately trained.  Professor  Cox  stated  that 
the  letter  brought  up  a  very  important  point 
and  that  the  society  should  take  some  action 
through  the  National  Park  Service  and  Na- 
tional Forestry  Service  to  check  the  encroach- 
ment of  foresters  on  park  service  work.  On 
motion  of  Mr.   Kellaway,  it  was 

Voted:  That  it  is  the  sense  of  the  meeting 
that  Mr.  F.  L.  Olmsted  be  delegated  as  special 
representative  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  to  take  up 
this  matter  with  the  proper  authorities  in  re- 
gard to  recreational  planning  of  national  for- 
ests and  national  parks. 


Dinner  Session.  Present:  Miss  Kimball, 
Messrs.  Aldrich,  Brinckerhoff,  Child,  Comey, 
Cox,  Dawson,  Gallagher,  Hubbard,  Kellaway, 
Olmsted,  Parker,  W.  L.  Phillips,  Pilat,  Pond, 
Pray,  Shurtleff,  S.  C.  Smith,  Steele,  Under- 
wood. Guests:  Professor  E.  H.  Wilson,  Mr. 
Edward  J.  Moon,  Mr.  Edward  W.  Barron, 
Messrs,  R.  W.  Beal,  H.  Sadler,  H.  P.  Kelsey, 
Theodore  Borst. 

Mr.  Moon,  president  of  the  American  As- 
sociation of  Nurserymen  was  the  first  speak- 
er and  described  the  activities  of  his  associa- 
tion which  was  instrumental  in  starting  the 
work  on  the  report  on  Plant  Nomenclature. 
He  stated  that  a  Vigilance  Committee  has 
been  organized  by  the  nurserymen  and  also  a 
Bureau  for  Finding  Nursery  Stock,  with  head- 
quarters at  Princeton,  N.  J.;  this  bureau  tabu- 
lates and  keeps  on  file  information  as  to  the 
availability  and  costs  of  all  types  of  nursery 
stock,  which  is  free  to  all  interested  persons. 

Mr.  Barron,  editor  of  the  Garden  Magazine, 
deplored  the  lack  of  active  interest  on  the  part 
of  landscape  architects  in  horticultural  publi- 
cations, stating  that  the  horticultural  interests 
in  this  country  support  fewer  trade  papers 
than  any  other  industry  comparable  to  the 
numbers  engaged.  In  reference  to  the  effect 
of  the  government's  restriction  on  the  im- 
portation of  nursery  stock,  he  said  our  best 
ornamental  material  comes  to  us  from  abroad, 
and  that  our  gardens  would  fall  off  rapidly  if 
deprived  of  the  foreign  varieties. 

The  next  speaker,  Professor  E.  H.  Wil- 
son, Horticultural  Collector  for  the  Arnold 
Arboretum,  dwelt  further  on  this  topic  of 
plant  quarantine  and  restrictions,  stating  that 
the  quarantine  is  wrong  in  principle  and  that 
plant  exclusion  will  not  prevent  the  importa- 
tion of  any  disease  or  insect  enemy  which 
could  not  be  prevented  in  other  and  less  dras- 
tic ways.  He  cited  as  an  example  the  Arnold 
Arboretum  into  which  no  plant  pest  has  been 
introduced  in  the  many  years  of  its  existence; 
as  a  solution  of  the  difificulty  he  recommended 
tlie  establishment  of  eight  or  ten  open  courts 
where  proper  inspection  facilities  could  be  in- 
stalled and  through  which  whatever  plants  de- 
sired might  enter  the  country  and  be  properly 
inspected  before  distribution  throughout  the 
country. 

Mr.  Harlan  P.  Kelsey  was  the  last  speaker 
and  dwelt  on  some  of  the  difficulties  experi- 
enced by  landscape  architects  and  nurserymen. 
In  the  discussion  which  followed  Mr.  Kelsey's 
remarks  it  was  pointed  out  by  some  of  the 
members  present  that  he  apparently  judged  all 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


51 


landscape  architects  by  the  few  with  whom  he 
had  come  in  contact  and  who  were  apparently 
not  well  informed  on  plants.  It  was  also  em- 
phasized in  the  discussion  that  the  field  of 
landscape  architecture  covered  more  than 
garden  design. 

On  motion  of  Professor  Pray,  it  was 
Voted:  That  it  is  the  sense  of  the  meeting 
that  the  Board  of  Trustees  should  refer  to  the 
Standing  Committee  on  Relations  with  Trades 
the  subject  of  Plant  Quarantine  No.  37  and  all 
other  quarantines  with  the  request  that  the 
committee  report  a  definite  plan  bj'  which  the 
weight  of  this  society's  influence  can  most 
effectively  be  brought  to  bear  toward  the  re- 
peal of  unreasonably  restrictive  regulations. 

Januciry  17-18,  1921.  Twenty-second  annual 
dinner  and  meeting,  .'\rchitectural  League, 
New  York  City. 

Dinner  Session.  Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Mrs. 
Farrand,  Mrs.  Hutcheson,  Messrs.  Brincker- 
hoff,  Caparn,  Chamberlain,  Child,  Clarke,  Cox, 
Davis,  Desmond,  Fleming,  Fowler,  Greenleaf, 
Geiffert,  Johnston,  Lay,  Lowrie,  Monroe,  F. 
L.  Olmsted,  Parker,  Parsons,  Pilat,  Pitkin, 
Taylor,  Tealdi,  Vitale,  Weinrichter  and  Wisel- 
tier.  Guests:  Mr.  Stephen  Mather,  Mr.  William 
C.  Gregg,  Messrs.  F.  F.  Betts,  R.  L.  Fowler. 
Jr.,   H.   Sadler. 

Mr.  Stephen  Mather,  Director  of  National 
Parks  Service,  Department  of  the  Interior, 
was  introduced  by  President  Olmsted  im- 
mediately after  the  dinner.  He  spoke  of  the 
activities  of  the  National  Park  Service  and  the 
difficulties  under  which  the  Service  was  at 
present  working,  particularly  with  regard  to 
the  meagre  appropriation  available  for  the 
work.  A  great  deal  has  been  accomplished, 
however,  and  Mr.  Mather  spoke  in  very  lauda- 
tory terms  of  the  part  in  bringing  about  this 
accomplishment  by  the  late  Charles  P.  Punch- 
ard  Jr.,  who  was  the  official  landscape  archi- 
tect in  the  Service.  Mr.  Mather  reviewed  in 
some  detail  the  dangers  now  threatening  the 
parks,  especially  Yellowstone  Park,  from  the 
irrigation  and  power  interests.  He  urged  the 
desirability  of  more  people  visiting  and  be- 
coming familiar  with  Yellowstone  Park,  where 
the  scenery  is  superb  and  the  wild  game  of 
many  sorts  is  abundant.  The  problem  of  pre- 
serving the  wild  game  is  one  reason  why 
Yellowstone  Lake  should  not  be  interfered 
with.  Much  damage  and  destruction  to  the 
natural  growth  of  the  surrounding  territory 
would   result  by   flooding   the    shores   adjacent 


to  the  present  lake  as  would  be  done  under 
the  Walsh  bill. 

Mr.  Mather  was  followed  by  William  C. 
Gregg,  a  manufacturer  of  Hackensack,  N.  J., 
who,  in  an  unofficial  capacity,  made  a  trip 
through  Yellowstone  Park  last  summer  and 
studied  carefully  the  probable  effect  on  the 
park  which  might  result  from  the  Idaho  plan 
for  water  storage  in  the  Falls  River  and  Belch- 
ler  River  basins  in  the  southwest  part  of  the 
park.  Mr.  Gregg  had  a  very  interesting  set 
of  slides  with  which  he  described  his  trip  and 
explained  that  since  the  war  there  was  an  in- 
crease in  the  market  for  land  in  the  areas 
bordering  upon  the  Yellowstone  Park,  which 
resulted  in  greater  activity  in  forwarding  irri- 
gation schemes.  He  said  the  proposed  rights 
to  construct  reservoirs  in  the  southwest  part 
of  the  park  would  easily  increase  the  specula- 
tive value  of  private  land.  The  southwestern 
corner  of  the  park,  through  which  he  traveled, 
is  little  known  to  the  public,  as  it  is  off  the 
tourist's  route.  A  large  portion  of  this  is  shown 
incorrectly  on  governmeiM  maps,  as  swamp 
land.  He  explained  that  on  the  contrary  dur- 
ing the  tourist  season  it  is  beautiful  meadow 
land,  surrounded  by  fine  scenery  and  contain- 
ing much  game.  Mr.  Gregg  pointed  out  that 
the  urge  toward  encroachment  appears  to  be 
largely  due  not  only  to  land  speculators  (who 
are  also  in  part  farmers)  but  also  to  water- 
power  interests  utilizing  the  water  of  the 
Snake  River, 

Mr.  Olmsted,  on  behalf  of  the  members 
present,  expressed  appreciation  and  thanks  to 
the  speakers.  He  then  called  on  Mr.  Vitale, 
who  explained  the  recent  organization  in  New 
York  of  an  .Atelier  in  Landscape  .Architecture 
under  the  auspices  of  the  American  Academy 
in  Rome.  Mr.  Vitale  explained  that  it  was  the 
purpose,  at  the  outset,  to  organize  a  group  of 
about  ten  men,  preferably  graduates  of  pro- 
fessional schools  and  with  some  experience. 
Practical  problems  within  reach  from  New 
York  City,  would  be  submitted  to  the  students 
for  study;  and  the  method  in  solving  these 
problems  would  be  for  them  first,  to  prepare  a 
preliminary  study  with  written  reports;  second, 
to  prepare  sketches  in  perspective,  showing 
proposed  solutions  of  the  more  important  and 
difficult  portions  of  the  problem;  and  third,  to 
work  out  constructive  details. 

Business  Session.  Twenty-second-  annual 
meeting,  .Architectural  League,  New  York 
City.  Present:  Miss  Coffin,  Messrs.  Brincker- 
hoff,  Brinley,  Caparn,  Child,  Clarke,  Davis, 
Desmond,    Fleming,    Fowler.    Geiffert,    Green- 


53 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


leaf,  Lowrie,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Parker,  Pilat, 
Pitkin,  Taylor,  Tealdi,  Vitale,  Weinrichter, 
Wiseltier. 

Annual  reports  of  the  secretary  and  treas- 
urer and  the  report  of  the  auditors  were  sub- 
mitted, accepted  and  ordered  mailed  to  the 
members.  The  treasurer's  report  showed  that 
the  society's  accounts  are  in  a  satisfactory 
condition. 

President  Olmsted  submitted  to  the  meeting 
a  summary  of  the  various  committee  reports 
for  discussion  so  far  as  time  permitted,  these 
reports  have  been  studied,  discussed  and  ac- 
cepted by  the  Board  of  Trustees  during  their 
session  preceding  the  annual  meeting.  Re- 
port of  the  Examining  Board,  James  L.  Green- 
leaf,  chairman,  emphasized  the  necessity  for 
the  proposer  of  a  new  member  to  familiarize 
himself  with  the  full  requirements  for  member- 
ship before  making  the  proposal.  Application 
blanks  will  be  sent  only  to  members  of  the 
society,  and  the  proposer  and  seconder  of  a 
new  member  will  be  made  responsible  for  the 
adequacy  of  the  statements  contained  in  the 
proposal.  The  Examining  Board  has  been 
considerably  handicapped  in  its  work  by  the 
difficulty  encountered  in  obtaining  necessary 
information  from  the  members  relative  to  the 
candidate  and  his  work. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Relations 
with  Trades,  James  F.  Dawson,  chairman,  em- 
bodied certain  proposed  changes  affecting  the 
former  "Statement  of  Obligations,"  etc.,  for- 
warded to  the  members  for  a  mail  ballot  vote 
of  approval,  and  also  a  resolution  in  regard  to 
Federal  Plant  Quarantine.  Mr.  Vitale,  former 
chairman  of  this  committee,  pointed  out  that 
in  the  earlier  negotiations  with  the  nursery- 
men, relative  to  this  matter,  it  was  shown  that 
of  the  nursery  business  as  a  whole,  about  ten 
per  cent,  comes  to  the  nurseryman  from  the 
landscape  architect,  ninety  per  cent,  from  other 
sources.  There  is  a  feeling  among  the  nursery- 
men that  after  their  bills  have  been  approved 
by  the  landscape  architect  they  should  be  al- 
lowed to  get  in  touch  with  the  client  and  col- 
lect the  bill  direct.  Mr.  Greenleaf  asked  if. 
when  a  landscape  architect  sends  his  approval 
of  a  nursery  bill,  the  nurseryman  should  be 
notified.  The  answer  was  yes,  and  it  is  so  pro- 
vided in  the  "Statement  of  Obligations,"  etc. 
agreed  upon  with  the  nurserymen. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Profession- 
al Registration,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  chairman,  ex- 
plained that  there  is  a  rather  wide-spread 
nervousness  as  to  the  effect  on  landscape  archi- 
tects   of    state    registration    of    engineers    and 


architects  now  pending  in  many  states.  The 
committee  felt,  however,  that  the  previous 
stand  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  against  state  regis- 
tration for  landscape  architects  should  be  ad- 
hered to.  The  president  stated  that  a  land- 
scape architect  who  is  really  a  competent 
architect,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term, 
might  of  course  register  properly  as  an  archi- 
tect; but  that  a  landscape  architect  who  is  not 
also  a  good  designer  of  buildings  ought  not  to 
register  as  an  architect  unless  we  want  to 
break  down  all  distinction  between  the  two 
professions;  and  that  it  is  certainly  undesir- 
able to  confine  the  legal  practice  of  landscape 
architecture  to  those  who  can  secure  regis- 
tration as  "architects"  from  a  board  of  archi- 
tectural examiners;  that  if  a  joint  board  of 
examiners  were  appointed  by  the  state,  there 
would  be  almost  a  certainty  of  the  other  pro- 
fessions predominating  in  the  personnel  of  the 
board  and  thus  work  injury  to  the  profession. 
Moreover,  even  if  the  qualifications  of  land- 
scape architects  for  registration  were  to  be 
determined  by  the  landscape  architect  mem- 
bers of  the  joint  board  or  by  a  separate  Board 
of  Landscape  Architects,  there  are  not  enough 
competent  landscape  architects  available  in 
most  states  to  make  such  a  method  workable. 
He  also  stated  that  the  ordinary  practice  of 
landscape  architecture  does  not  involve  suffi- 
cient danger  to  life,  health  or  property  to  justi- 
fy the  regulation  of  the  profession  under  the 
police  power  of  the  state. 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Publicity,  Phelps 
Wyman,  chairman,  was  read  by  the  president. 
The  report  dwelt  at  length  on  the  question  of 
advertising  in  magazines.  The  general  opinion 
of  those  present  seemed  to  be  that  group  ad- 
vertising as  outlined  in  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee would  not  be  worth  attempting. 

Chapter  reports  were  presented  by  the  presi- 
dent in  summary,  and  certain  passages  of  the 
report  of  the  Pacific  Coast  Chapter  were  read 
in  full. 

Report  of  the  Committee  to  Co-operate  with 
the  Comite  Neerlando-Belge  d'Art  Civique, 
Stephen  Child,  chairman,  was  read.  Reference 
was  made  to  the  very  interesting  and  very  long 
report  of  this  committee  giving  an  account  of 
the  chairman's  work  and  observations  during 
his  mission  to  Belgium,  undertaken  at  his  own 
expense  during  the  summer  of  19:30  to  collab- 
orate with  those  engaged  in  reconstruction  and 
especially  in  town  planning  in  Belgium.  Time 
did  not  permit  submission  of  the  full  report. 

National  Botanic  Garden  and  Arboretum:  A 
resolution  approved  by  the  Board  of  Trustees 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


53 


recommending  the  creation  of  such  an  insti- 
tution in  the  District  of  Columbia  was  read 
by  President  Olmsted  who  explained  that  this 
resolution  would  be  submitted  to  the  mem- 
bers for  mail  ballot  vote  of  approval. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  Exhibitions, 
Fletcher  Steele,  chairman,  explained  that  the 
American  Federation  of  Arts  had  agreed  to 
arrange  a  circuit  for  the  exhibition  now  in 
preparation,  the  Federation  taking  over  the 
exhibition  after  it  had  first  been  shown  in  Bos- 
ton during  exhibition  in  New  York  during  the 
month  of  April.  The  Federation  has  arranged 
for  exhibitions  in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  May, 
and  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  in  June  or  July.  The 
president  explained  that  an  effort  would  be 
made  to  make  available  for  the  professional 
schools  in  landscape  architecture  the  various 
plans  and  data  submitted  by  successful  can- 
didates for  admission  to  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  in  the 
hands  of  the  Examining  Board. 

Committee  on  Year  Book,  chairman,  Stephen 
Child:  President  Olmsted  outlined  the  tenta- 
tive plans  for  the  publication  of  a  year  book 
for  the  A.  S.  L.  A.,  explaining  that  it  was  the 
purpose  to  include  all  data  of  current  interest 
in  an  annual  publication.  He  asked  for  ex- 
pressions of  opinion.  Mr.  Caparn  felt  that  it 
would  be  a  mistake  to  sell  it  to  members  as 
suggested  by  the  committee.  It  should  as  pro- 
posed by  the  trustees,  be  distributed  free  of 
charge  or  not  printed  at  all.  Comments  were 
expressed  relative  to  advertising  matter  in  this 
publication.  Consensus  of  opinion  seemed  to 
be  in  opposition  to  such  advertising. 

Regional  Plan  for  Vicinity  of  Washington, 
D.  C,  was  referred  to  by  President  Olmsted. 
He  explained  that  Mr.  Child's  able  report 
covering  this  project  had  been  submitted  and 
read  at  the  Boston  meeting  of  the  society  in 
1920  and  that  the  resolution  favoring  this 
project  had  been  withheld  pending  certain  re- 
visions which,  Mr.  Child  agreed,  had  become 
evidently  necessary. 

With  regard  to  the  Committee  on  Policies, 
Mr.  Caparn,  chairman,  Mr.  Olmsted  explained 
that  the  revision  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  policies 
and  formulation  of  new  ones  had  not  yet  been 
completed  but  were  well  on  the  way. 

The  Committee  on  Professional  Practice  and 
Ethics,  A.  D.  Taylor,  chairman,  is  engaged  in 
compiling  a  revised  "Official  Statement  of 
Professional  Practice,"  which  will  be  submitted 
for  action  at  the  next  Boston  meeting:  and 
a  more  extended  confidential  circular  for  the 
information  of  members  which  will  be  sent  out 
later  in  the  vear. 


March  8,  1921.  Boston  annual  meeting, 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  Bos- 
ton. 

Present:  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Beal,  Blossom, 
Brinckerhoflf.  Child,  Comey.  DeForest,  Hubbard, 
Kellaway,  F.  L.  Olmsted,  Pond,  Parker,  Pray, 
Reynolds,  S.  C.  Smith  and  Steele. 

President  Olmsted  explained  a  questionnaire 
recently  received  from  Mr.  C.  J.  Galpin, 
Economist  in  Charge,  Rural  Life  Studies  of  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  for 
information  as  to  the  location  and  character 
of  completed  works  in  country  planning.  A 
request  will  be  made  for  sufficient  copies  of 
this  questionnaire  to  provide  each  member 
with  two,  one  to  be  returned  to  the  above  gov- 
ernment bureau  and  the  other  to  be  sent  to 
the  Committee  on  Landscape  Index,  F.  L. 
Olmsted,  chairman. 

The  president  also  explained  recent  activi- 
ties in  regard  to  Professional  Registration  and 
called  attention  to  the  recent  report  of  the 
Committee  on  Professional  Registration  which 
had  been  sent  to  the  members  of  the  A.  S.  L. 
A.  He  read  a  supplementary  statement  in  the 
form  of  a  letter  addressed  to  Professor  Emil 
Lorch  of  the  University  of  Michigan  which 
the  committee  proposed  to  send  to  the  mem- 
bers. 

Mr.  Olmsted  announced  that  the  trustees, 
at  their  recent  session  had  finally  approved  the 
revision  of  the  Statement  of  Professional  Prac- 
tice and  Ethics  and  explained  some  of  the 
changes  made,  and  that  the  proof  sheets  of  the 
revised  statement  would  be  forwarded  to  the 
members  for  final  adoption  by  mail  ballot. 

Professor  Pray  was  called  upon  to  read  the 
minute  on  the  "Life  and  Service  of  Charles  P. 
Punchard"  which  he  had  recently  prepared. 

Mr.  Olmsted  explained  recent  activities  re- 
garding opposition  to  "Xational  Park  En- 
croachment." These  efforts  had  been  success- 
ful in  heading  off  the  Smith  bill  and  the  Walsh 
bill  which  if  passed  would  have  permitted  en- 
croachment in  Yellowstone  Park.  The  Smitli 
bill  will  come  up  again  in  a  new  form  at  the 
next  session  of  Congress  and  provide  for  a 
scheme  to  withdraw  from  the  Yellowstone 
Park  a  large  area  in  the  southwest  corner  of 
the  park  and  add  an  area  many  times  greater 
in  the  Teton  mountain  section.  Mr.  Reynolds 
urged  constant  activity  on  the  part  of  the 
members  against  park  encroachment  and 
recommended  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
to  report  on  the  proposed  new  boundary  lines 
of  the  Xational  Parks.  He  stated  that  the 
feeling  between  the  National  Park  Service  and 


54 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


the  Forest  Service  is  such  that  they  will  not 
get  together  on  any  large  construction  work. 
Mr.  Olmsted  pointed  out  that  much  will  de- 
pend upon  the  attitude  of  the  new  administra- 
tion as  to  what  steps  it  would  be  advisable  to 
take  and  suggested  postponing  any  definite  ac- 
tion until  this  becomes  known. 

Reference  was  made  by  the  president  to  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  a  Regional  Plan 
for  Certain  Areas  Related  to  the  District  of 
Columbia  and  to  Baltimore,  Stephen  Child, 
chairman.  The  project  has  been  carefully 
studied  and  has  extensive  approval,  but  has 
not  as  yet  been  formally  presented  to  Con- 
gress. The  trustees  have  approved  the  follow- 
ing resolution  which  will  be  submitted  to  the 
members  for  vote  of  approval.  (See  page  67.) 

Dinner  Session.  St.  Botolph  Club,  Boston. 
Present:  Miss  Kimball,  Messrs.  Aldrich,  Beal, 
Blossom,  Brinckerhofif,  Caldwell,  Child,  Comey, 
Dawson,  DeForest,  Gallagher,  Hubbard,  Kella- 
way,  Marquis,  Nolen,  Olmsted,  Parker,   Pond, 


Pray,  Reynolds,  Smith,  Steele,  Shurtleflf, 
Whiting. 

A  very  interesting  series  of  illustrated  talks 
was  given  by  the  following  members  showing 
the  solution  of  unusual  landscape  problems  for 
which   they  had  been  responsible: 

Mr.  Fletcher  Steele,  on  the  Ethan  Allen 
Place  at  North  Andover,  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Whiting,  on  the  William  A.  Rogers 
Place  at   Kennebunkport,   Maine. 

Mr.  Shurtleff,  on  City  Planning  problems 
including:  A  Playground  on  Morton  Street, 
Boston;  Redesign  of  the  Greeting  in  Franklin 
Park,  Boston;  The  Development  of  Common- 
wealth Avenue,  Boston. 

Mr.  DeForest,  on  the  Olmsted  Place  at  Lud- 
low, Pennsylvania,  and  on  Color  in  Gardens, 
shown  by  lumiere  lantern  slides. 

Mr.  Percival  Gallagher,  on  the  George  F. 
Baker  Place,  Locust  Valley,  Long  Island. 

Mr.  Hubbard,  on  the  Emery  Place  at  New- 
port, Rhode  Island,  illustrating  a  rock  and 
water  garden. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


55 


OFFICIAL  STATEMENT  OF  PROFESSIONAL  PRACTICE 

THE  PRACTICE  OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE 


SCOPE  AND  VALUE 

L  Landscape  Architecture  is  the  art 
of  fitting  land  for  human  use  and  enjoy- 
ment. 

IL  The  Landscape  Architect  designs 
and  advises  regarding  the  arrangement, 
and  directs  the  development,  of  land  and 
the  objects  upon  it  in  connection  with 
private  grounds  and  gardens,  institu- 
tions, public  parks,  playgrounds  and 
squares,  cemeteries,  streets  and  park- 
ways, residential  communities,  and  prob- 
lems of  city  and  regional  planning. 

IIL  A  Landscape  Architect  in  good 
professional  standing  has  artistic  ability 
and  thorough  technical  training  to  deal 
with  the  problems  which  he  undertakes. 
His  remuneration  is  an  openly  stated 
compensation  received  directly  from  his 
client  for  services  rendered,  and  not  a 
hidden  or  speculative  profit  on  materials 
supplied  or  labor  employed. 

1\'.  To  the  extent  agreed  upon  with 
his  client,  he  gives  oral  and  written  ad- 
vice, prepares  or  directs  surveys,  de- 
velops general  designs,  working  drawings 
(such  as  general  construction  plans, 
grading  and  drainage  plans,  planting 
plans,  and  incidental  architectural  and 
engineering  details),  and  specifications: 
supervises  the  execution  of  his  plans ;  and 
co-operates  with  experts  in  other  fields, 
including  architecture,  civil  and  sanitary 
engineering,  and  forestry.     He  should  be 


consulted    as    soon    as   the    proposed   de- 
velopment is  under  consideration. 

V.  He  acts,  to  a  reasonable  extent  and 
as  authorized,  as  his  client's  agent  in 
selecting  and  ordering  materials  and  in 
issuing  instructions  for  the  execution  of 
work  by  contractors  or  others ;  and  he 
acts  in  a  judicial  capacity  with  respect  to 
the  relations  between  his  client  and  ma- 
terial-men, contractors,  or  laborers,  with 
whom  on  his  advice  the  client  has  en- 
tered into  business  relations. 

\T.  In  accepting  employment  he  un- 
dertakes an  obligation  to  protect  his 
client's  legitimate  interests  to  the  best 
of  his  ability  in  the  matters  confided  to 
hrm  He  is  not  pecuniarily  responsible 
lor  tiie  quality  or  quantity  of  the  results 
obtained  under  his  direction,  especially 
for  the  failure  of  plants  to  grow  or  to  be 
delivered  promptly.  His  right  to  com- 
pen.sation  for  services,  rendered  in  good 
faith  and  with  due  diligence  in  accord- 
ance with  a  proper  authorization,  is  not 
dependent  upon  his  client's  satisfaction 
with  these  services. 

VTI.  The  benefits  derived  from  the 
services  of  a  competent  Landscape  Archi- 
tect are  normally  a  more  perfect  utiliza- 
tion of  ground  space  resulting  in  a  greater 
convenience  of  use  and  a  higher  degree 
of  beauty,  the  saving  of  much  trouble  and 
annoyance  to  the  owner,  and  often  an 
actual  saving  in  cost,  both  of  development 
and  of  subsequent  maintenance. 


56  TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 

METHODS  OF  PRACTICE 


VIII.  A  visit  to  the  grounds  and  a 
consultation  is  ordinarily  the  first  step, 
to  become  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
client's  wishes  and  with  the  nature  of  the 
problem.  This  visit  binds  neither  party 
to  any  further  dealings.  Sometimes  verb- 
al instructions  on  the  ground,  in  the 
course  of  a  visit,  with  or  without  a  writ- 
ten report  or  sketches,  will  meet  the 
needs  of  the  client. 

IX.  The  usual  procedure  if  further 
services  are  desired  from  the  Landscape 
Architect,  is  as  follows : 

a.  The  making  of  surveys  either  by 
the  Landscape  Architect  or  in  accord- 
ance with  his  instructions. 

b.  The  making  of  preliminary  studies 
as  a  basis  for  discussion  of  the  problem 
with  the  client. 

c.  The  preparation  of  a  general  plan 
based  on  the  revised  preliminary 
studies  (a  written  report  frequently  ac- 
companying this  general  plan  to  ex- 
plain further  any  intent  of  the  design 
that  might  not  be  clearly  illustrated 
by  the  plan  itself). 

d.  The  development  of  working  draw- 
ings (with  specifications)  such  as 
grading  and  drainage  plans,  large  scale 
construction  plans,  detailed  planting 
plans,  and  garden  details. 

e.  The  obtaining  of  bids,  and  negotia- 
tions with  contractors  preceding  the 
letting  of  contracts ;  or,  in  the  case  of 
day  labor,  the  making  of  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  executing  the  work ; 


and  the  selection  and  ordering  of 
plants. 

/.  The  general  direction  and  super- 
vision of  the  work  by  the  Landscape 
Architect  or  his  assistants  during  its 
execution. 

X.  The  employment  of  a  Landscape 
Architect  conveys  no  authority  to  him  to 
proceed  beyond  those  stages  of  the  work 
clearly  covered  by  the  terms  of  his  em- 
ployment ;  and  the  client  has  a  right  to 
terminate  his  services  at  any  time  on 
payment  for  services  rendered  and  ex- 
penses properly  incurred  to  date,  unless 
there  is  a  definite  contract  to  the  con- 
trary. The  plans  and  specifications  pre- 
pared by  a  Landscape  Architect  are  "in- 
struments of  service,"  and  remain  his 
property  unless  by  special  agreement  in 
exceptional  cases.  Because  of  the  extra- 
ordinary difficulty  of  securing  satisfac- 
tory results  in  the  execution  of  landscape 
plans  without  their  designer's  supervision 
to  aid  in  their  interpretation,  it  is  con- 
trary to  the  best  practice  for  Landscape 
Architects  to  furnish  plans  for  execution 
by  others,  divorced  from  supervision  by 
themselves. 

XI.  In  cases  where  growing  plants 
are  essential  elements  in  the  design  the 
work  of  the  Landscape  Architect  normal- 
ly requires  several  years  for  its  success- 
ful development,  and  the  quality  of  the 
result  is  largely  dependent  on  the  skill 
with  which  the  maintenance  is  supervised 
during  this  period.  It  is  therefore  im- 
portant, especially  in  the  larger  problems, 
that  he  be  retained  in  an  advisory  capa- 
city for  a  period  of  one  or  more  years 
after  the  completion  of  the  initial  work. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


57 


METHODS  OF  PROFESSIONAL 
CHARGE 

XII.  The  value  of  the  Landscape 
Architect's  services  and  the  amount  of 
his  charges  vary  with  the  experience  and 
reputation  of  the  practitioner  and  also 
with  the  character  of  the  work  upon 
which  he  is  employed. 

XIII.  The  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  approves  the  following 
methods  of  charge  as  adapted  to  differ- 
ent types  of  work,  and  to  the  wishes  of 
different  clients : 

a.  Jl  fixed  sum  for  slated  sewice. 

1.  y?    lump   sum  fee,  including    all  ex- 
penses. 

2.  y?  fee  plus  expenses. 

b.  'Per  diem  charges  for  the  time  of  the 
Landscape  Architect  and  of  his  assist- 
ants for  visits  and  consultations  or  for 
supervision  of  work. 

c.  yJ  per  acre  charge,  covering  total 
professional  services,  for  development 
of  large  country  estates,  real  estate 
subdivisions,  parks  and  institutional 
properties,  but  excluding  smaller  sub- 
urban home  grounds  and  gardens. 

d.  Jl  percentage  charge  on  the  "total  cost"* 
of  the  work  executed,  and  varying  with 
the  amount  of  work  to  be  executed 
within  a  definite  period. 

e.  yln    annual   retaining  fee   or   salary 

for  professional  services  rendered  to 
municipal  and  other  corporations;  and 


in  general  for  the  continuing  advisory- 
services  which  are  often  essential  to 
the  wise  maintenance  and  gradual  de- 
velopment of  land.scape  work  follow- 
ing its  initial  execution. 

XIV.  In  any  of  the  foregoing  meth- 
ods except  "a  lump  sum  fee"  expenses  are 
usually  rendered  as  additional  charges. 
Such  chargeable  expenses  may  be  defined 
by  individual  agreements.  They  nor- 
mally include  some  or  all  of  the  follow- 
ing items:  traveling  and  living  expenses 
of  the  Landscape  Architect  and  of  his 
assistants  while  away  from  the  office; 
long  distance  telephone  calls,  telegrams, 
express  charges,  prints  and  photographs ; 
fees  for  services  of  specialists  when  re- 
quired and  authorized  by  the  client; 
other  special  disbursements  authorized 
by  the  client;  and  under  methods  a-2,  c 
and  e  a  charge  for  time  of  assistants 
while  engaged  on  work  authorized  by  the 
client.  When  the  work  of  more  than 
one  client  is  visited  on  any  one  trip, 
traveling  and  living  expenses  are  pro- 
portioned among  the  works  visited. 

XV.  In  case  of  the  abandonment  or 
suspension  of  the  work,  payment  is  due 
the  Landscape  Architect  in  proportion 
to  the  services  performed. 

XVI.  Payments  to  the  Landscape 
Architect  are  due  according  to  bills  ren- 
dered either  at  monthly  intervals  or  at 
stages  of  the  work  when  it  is  practicable 
to  determine  charges  for  professional 
services  and  expenses  to  date  as  the  work 
progresses. 


♦The  "total  cost"  of  the  work  is  to  be  interpreted  as  the  cost  of  all  labor  and  materials  neces- 
sary to  complete  the  work,  plus  all  transportation  charges,  plus  contractors'  profits  and  expenses, 
as  such  cost  would  be  if  all  materials  were  purchased  new  and  all  labor  fully  paid  for  at  market 
prices  current  when  these  were  ordered. 


58 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


ADOPTED   POLICIES  WITH  COMMENTARIES 


BUILDINGS  IN  PUBLIC  PARKS 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  is  opposed  to  the  erec- 
tion in  Public  Parks  of  buildings  other 
than  those  required  for  park  purposes. 

DIVERSION  OF  PARK  LAND 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  is  opposed  to  the  diver- 
sion of  land  which  has  once  been  set 
apart  for  public  recreation  until  an  over- 
whelming public  need  for  such  diversion 
has  been  convincingly  shown,  or  unless 
it  is  shown  that  an  exchange  of  land  will 
unquestionably  give  the  community  more 
than  it  loses. 

COMMENTARY  ON  ABOVE  TWO 
POLICIES 
It  is  unfortunate  that  the  more  use- 
ful park  lands  become,  for  park  pur- 
poses, the  more  desirable  they  become 
for  many  others,  especially  those  of 
building.  The  result  is  that  attacks 
are  continually  being  made  on  the  in- 
tegrity of  parks  by  people  with  real 
estate  schemes,  proposals  for  public 
and  semi-public  buildings  or  institu- 
tions, or  by  people  with  axes  to  grind 
at  the  expense  of  the  community,  and 
who  cannot  see  that  a  piece  of  public 
ground  is  doing  any  work  unless  it  has 
a  building  or  a  street  on  it.  The  de- 
termination and  persistence  of  those 
who  would  despoil  is  greater  than  that 
of  most  of  the  park  defenders,  and  the 
latter  are  mostly  ill-provided  with  ar- 
guments or  energy  to  defend  the 
parks ;  and  as  the  best  uses  of  parks, 
those  of  solace,  recreation  and  the  ef- 
fect on  the  mind  of  park  scenery, 
though  of  as  really  practical  value  as 
any  uses  to  which  land  may  be  put, 
are  difficult  to  state,  it  becomes  hard 


to  overpower  the  pleas  of  the  so-called 
practical  man  who  can  demonstrate 
the  soundness  of  his  scheme  from  his 
point  of  view  by  facts,  figures  and  per- 
haps balance  sheets.  Furthermore, 
the  American  public  is  generally  very 
hazy  in  its  ideas  about  the  inviolability 
of  park  lands,  and  does  not  see  the 
great  danger  in  small  encroachments 
which  form  precedents  for  others,  and 
become  continually  more  difficult  to 
resist.  The  number  or  energy  of  at- 
tacks on  park  lands  is  an  index  of  the 
value  of  them  to  the  people,  and  should 
be  an  index  of  the  determination  of  the 
people  to  resist  them.  The  open 
spaces  of  a  community  are,  in  their 
way,  as  precious  to  it  as  its  covered 
ones ;  and  they  will  never  be  secure 
until  the  people  have  been  educated  to 
consider  a  public  park  as  inviolable  as 
a  public  building. 

BILLBOARDS 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  favors  reasonable  and 
appropriate  local  regulations  by  legally 
constituted  authority  for  the  control  of 
advertising  signs  and  of  other  private 
enterprises  likely  to  impair,  through  of- 
fense to  the  sense  of  sight,  the  esthetic 
or  economic  value  of  public  or  private 
property  in  the  district  in  which  they 
occur. 

COMMENTARY 

Nearly  all  people  endeavor  accord- 
ing to  their  lights  to  protect  their 
homes  against  ugliness  within.  In  pro- 
portion as  the  community  is  more 
numerous  than  a  household  it  is  im- 
portant to  protect  it,  as  far  as  possible, 
against  ugliness  without,  in  its  streets 
and  public  places.     We  are  now,  to  a 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


59 


greater  or  less  extent,  protected 
against  things  that  offend  all  the  sense 
excepting  that  of  sight  alone :  yet  this 
is  in  many  respects,  more  important 
than  the  others,  for  ugliness  is  an  of- 
fense against  the  mind,  and  has  a 
subtle,  but  very  important,  effect  on 
popular  education  and  happiness. 
Billboards  are  made  in  no  sense  for 
public,  but  entirely  for  private  gain, 
are  thrust  upon  the  view  of  as  large  a 
part  of  the  public  as  possible,  and  are 
perhaps  less  necessary,  less  justifiable 
and  more  easily  mitigated  or  sup- 
pressed altogether  than  any  of  the 
things  that  disfigure  our  open  spaces. 
As  time  goes  on  it  will  become  clear 
that  private  persons  have  no  right  to 
inflict  what  they  please  on  the  vision 
of  the  community,  nor  to  expect  the 
community  to  endure  it.  As  billboards 
are  made  to  exploit  the  public  it  is  no 
more  than  just  that  at  least  they 
should  be  taxed  for  public  advantage 
and  that  their  appearance  should  be 
regulated  by  public  officials. 

Existing  Legislation.  In  Pennsyl- 
\ania  the  .\cts  of  June  8.  1881,  and 
March  10.  1903.  forbid  under  penalty 
of  fine  or  imprisonment  the  placing  of 
advertising  signs  on  State  property  or 
on  private  property  without  the  own- 
er's consent. 

In  Milwaukee  an  ordinance  exists 
regulating  billboards  on  grounds  of 
safety  from  fire  and  falling,  and  for- 
bidding advertisements  on  public 
streets  or  structures. 

Ordinances  regulating  billboards 
have  been  sustained  in  Texas  and  Mis- 
souri. 

Under  a  decision  in  the  case  of  Com- 
monwealth vs.  Boston  Advertising  Co. 
188  Mass.  348.  billboards  could  not  be 
restricted  on  grounds  of  unsightliness. 

Billboard  Regulation  Abroad.  Out- 
door advertising  is  regulated  and  taxed 


in  Germany,  France  and  Buenos  Aires, 
and  taxed  in  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

Control  of  Billboards.  Billboards 
can  be  controlled  by  existing  legisla- 
tion principally  on  grounds  of  trespass 
and  danger  from  fire  or  falling,  also  of 
advertising  alcoholic  drinks  or  inciting 
to  vice  and  crime.  But  the  only  way 
of  reaching  the  real  causes  of  their  un- 
popularity will  be  through  constitu- 
tional amendments  enabling  them  to 
be  regulated  under  the  police  power 
on  the  ground  of  injury  to  amenity  or 
pleasing  quality,  comfort  and  livable- 
ness  of  a  place  and  consequently  to  its 
real  estate  values. 

NATIONAL   PARKS 

The  .\.  S.  L.  A.  believes  that  addi- 
tions should  be  made  to  the  number  of 
our  National  and  State  Parks  in  order 
that  examples  of  our  most  characteristic 
and  rapidly  decreasing  natural  scenery 
mav  be  preserved  against  encroachment 
bv  economic  forces. 

PRESERVATION  OF 
NIAGARA   FALLS 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  is  opposed  to  diver- 
sions of  water  from  the  Falls  for  power 
or  other  purposes  beyond  those  permit- 
ted under  the  Burton  Act  which  expired 
March  4,  1913.  We  urge  the  perman- 
ent public  control  of  the  diversion  of  wa- 
ter from  the  Falls. 

COMMENTARY 
Niagara  Falls,  one  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful, thrilling,  impressive  and  popular 
of  all  natural  spectacles,  has  the  ad- 
ditional distinction  of  being  unique. 
Mountains,  lakes,  rivers,  oceans,  and 
other  wonders  of  nature  are  multiplied 
on  the  earth's  surface,  but  there  is  only 
one  such  cataract  accessible  to  most  of 
mankind.  It  is  not  a  private,  nor  even 
a  State  possession ;  it  is  actually  con- 


60 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


trolled  by  two  nations,  neither  of 
which  can  injure  it  without  violating 
the  rights  of  the  other,  and  who  should 
look  on  it,  not  as  their  private  prop- 
erty but  as  held  in  trust  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  world.  Its  vast  and  easily 
convertible  water  power  has  tempted 
many  private  interests  to  exploit  it  on 
the  plea  that  so  much  power  is  going 
to  waste,  on  the  assumption  that  any 
force  that  does  not  turn  wheels  and 
produce  dividends  is  lost.  They  would 
thus  deprive  the  world  of  one  of  its 
rarest  possessions  for  the  commercial 
gain  of  a  few. 

The  depletion  of  Niagara  would 
greatly  endanger  the  enormous  com- 
merce of  Lake  Erie  and  the  Detroit 
River.  The  lowering  of  these  waters 
one  inch  means  the  loss  to  their 
freighters,  which  load  to  the  limits  of 
existing  depths,  of  about  $10,000,000 
annually.  These  existing  depths  in 
the  harbors  and  waterways  have  only 
been  attained  by  dredging  at  great  ex- 
pense by  the  Federal  Government. 
Thus,  for  enriching  of  those  few  rich 
who  would  destroy  Niagara,  the  world 
must  contribute  its  marvelous  spectacle, 
the  shipping  interests  of  the  Lakes  a 
huge  revenue,  and  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment its  great  outlays  in  harbor  con- 
struction. 

The  plea  is  made  that  if  New  York 
State  does  not  use  the  power,  Canada 
will,  thus  diverting  industries  from 
ourselves  to  a  rival.  But  Canada  is 
able  to  use  less  than  one-third  of  the 
power  she  produces  from  the  Falls, 
the  rest  being  exported  to  the  United 
States.  The  exportation  can  be  limit- 
ed by  the  President  under  the  Treaty 
with  Canada,  and  the  situation  thus 
controlled. 

The  United  States  would  not  feel 
the  gain  of  using  Niagara  power  any 
more  than  she  feels  the  loss  of  leaving 
it  to  do  Nature's  work,  and  she  should 


guard  it  as  a  private  person  might  a 
rare  painting  or  statue,  as  a  thing  too 
rare  to  be  replaced,  too  precious  to  be 
injured,  and  too  necessary  to  be  dis- 
pensed with. 

NATIONAL  FORESTS 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  believes  that  the  num- 
ber and,  in  some  cases,  the  extent  of  our 
National  Forests  should  be  increased  by 
the  reservation  of  areas  suited  to  Nation- 
al Forests,  for  at  least  the  next  genera- 
tion, (and  particularly  where  they  pro- 
tect the  water  supply),  and  not  suited  to 
other  uses ;  and  approves  the  policy  of 
the  Forest  Service  in  recognizing  the 
dominant  scenic  or  recreational  value  of 
certain  areas  in  National  Forests  which, 
because  of  their  location  or  character, 
cannot  better  be  created  National  Parks, 
without  at  this  time  expressing  any  opin- 
ion as  to  the  proper  administrative  con- 
trol of  such  areas. 

COMMENTARY 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  enlarge  on 
the  economic  value  of  forests  in  these 
days  of  rapidly  waning  timber  supply, 
or  on  the  obvious  fact  that  no  one  but 
the  Government  can  go  into  the  busi- 
ness on  a  large  scale  of  raising  crops 
that  take  one  or  rnore  generations  to 
mature.  It  is  less  generally  under- 
stood that  the  forests  exercise  an  im- 
portant influence  on  climate  and  soil 
fertility  by  causing  a  more  even  dis- 
tribution of  rainfall,  and  by  absorption 
of  water  in  the  forest  floor,  mitigating 
and  perhaps  at  times  preventing  floods 
and  freshets  which  wash  the  most  fer- 
tile parts  of  the  soil  into  the  streams. 

It  will  thus  be  clear  that,  as  private- 
ly owned  forests  become  exhausted, 
not  only  must  the  country  depend  for 
its  future  supply  of  home  grown  tim- 
ber to  a  great  extent  on  the  National 
Forests,    but    that    the    fertility    and 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


61 


scenery  of  the  agricultural  and  other 
lands  outside  of  the  forests  will,  as 
time  goes  on,  be  affected  by  them. 

National  Forests  will  become  in- 
creasingly useful  for  the  preservation 
of  wild  animals  and  fish  and  of  our 
native  flora,  in  the  conservation  of 
water  for  power  and  irrigation,  as 
health  and  pleasure  resorts  and,  as  af- 
fording within  proper  regulations,  free 
firewood  and  other  timber  for  nearby 
farmers. 

NATIONAL   HIGHWAYS 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  endorses  the  proposal 
for  a  system  of  National  Highways  con- 
necting our  great  cities,  national  parks, 
national  monuments  and  national  forests 
and  other  features  of  conspicuous  inter- 
est, whether  the  works  of  nature  or  man. 


COMMENTARY 

It  is  not  an  exaggeration  to  say  that 
there  is  no  city  of  importance  that  is 
not  compelled  to  forego  park  areas 
which  it  would  acquire  but  for  the  pro- 
hibitive cost  due  largely  to  the  "un- 
earned increment,"  as  well  as  to  pri- 
vate improvement.  If  such  cities  had 
been  properly  laid  out  in  the  begin- 
ning, the  park  areas  would  have  been 
diflferent  and  more  advantageously  dis- 
tributed even  though  the  total  park 
area  might  not  have  been  greater,  and 
much  land  now  built  upon  would  have 
been  made  into  parks. 

Examples  both  of  the  economy  of 
forehandedness  and  the  extravagance 
of  the  lack  of  it  in  acquiring  park  lands 
would  make  good  illustrative  material 
for  this  policy. 


RESTORATION  OF  NATURAL 
FERTILITY 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  views  with  alarm  the 
vast  destruction  of  the  natural  fertility 
of  our  soils  in  many  parts  of  the  country 
and  it  favors  the  adoption  of  a  perman- 
ent national  policy  of  encouraging  the 
general  practise  of  such  methods  as  may 
be  found  practicable  and  effective  in  pre- 
serving and  restoring  the  natural  fertility 
of  the  soil. 

TIMELY  ACQUISITION  OF 
PARK  LANDS 

Tlie  A.  S.  L.  A.  considers  it  a  principle 
of  sound  civic  policy  that  all  growing 
towns  should  choose  and  limit  improve- 
ments upon,  and,  when  possible,  acquire 
lands  suited  to  the  probable  park  needs 
of  the  future,  in  order  that,  when  such 
needs  become  imperative,  the  cost  may 
not  be  exorbitant  or  even  prohibitive. 
The  A.  S.  L.  A.  believes  that  the  gov- 
ernmental bodies,  federal,  state  and  civic, 
should  encourage  the  general  adoption  of 
such  a  policy. 


STATE  ART  COMMISSIONS 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  considers  that  in  every 
state  and  city  there  should  be  an  Art 
Commission  whose  approval  is  necessary 
to  the  design  and  execution  of  any  per- 
manent structure  of  any  kind,  whether 
architecture  or  sculpture,  or  of  any  park 
or  public  ground  on,  or  extending  on  any 
state  or  city  owned  property;  also  to  the 
removal  or  relocation  of  any  state  or  city 
owned  work  of  art;  and  that  no  publicly 
owned  building,  monument  or  park 
should  be  executed  without  the  approval 
of  an  art  commission  legally  qualified 
either  i\v  the  state  or  by  a  municipality. 

COMMENTARY 

There  is  no  surer  index  of  the  men- 
tality of  a  community  than  the  public 
buildings  or  monuments  which  it 
erects.  A  country  like  this  with  so 
many  public  needs  to  fulfill,  so  much 
history  in  the  past  and  so  much  more 
in  the  future  to  celebrate  will  create 
an  incalculable  number  of  buildings 
for    utilitarian    needs   and   monuments 


(>2 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


for  ideal  ones.  Every  one  of  these 
ought  to  be  a  work  of  art,  unless  it  is 
to  be  a  slur  on  the  neig-hborhood 
where  it  stands. 

In  a  new  country  like  this,  with 
ideas  of  art  so  unsettled,  with  great 
numbers  of  people  of  small  taste  and 
education  continually  attaining  to  po- 
sitions of  wealth  or  influence,  with  the 
purely  commercial  spirit  so  rife  among 
those  who  control  and  those  who  con- 
struct public  works,  there  is  inevitably 
a  large  proportion  of  public  work  exe- 
cuted in  style  and  design  unworthy  of 
an  enlightened  people.  All  these  con- 
siderations point  to  the  control  of  the 
design  of  public  structures  by  a  cen- 
tralized and  competent  art  authority. 

No  building  can  be  said  to  be  the 
exclusive  property  of  the  community 
that  puts  it  up  and  pays  for  it ;  for  it 
is  very  often  seen  by  a  far  greater 
number  than  those  who  live  in  its 
neighborhood,  and  contributes  its  in- 
evitable share  to  the  art  product  of  the 
entire  country.  It  affects  the  minds 
and  helps  to  mould  the  taste,  not  only 
of  its  nominal  owners,  but  of  every 
passer-by,  no  matter  whence  he  comes. 
Every  traveler  can  see  it,  and  even 
those  who  paid  for  it  can  do  no  more, 
excepting  that  they  may  see  it  oftener. 
It  is  a  gift  presented  unasked  by  the 
locality  to  the  nation. 

Most  large  communities  and  many 
small  ones  have  art  commissions  which 
])rol)ably  accomplish  much  good  on 
the  whole.  But  great  numbers  of  pub- 
lic buildings  and  monuments  are  put 
up  under  no  responsible  art  super- 
vision, and  these,  as  well  as  all  struc- 
tures and  parks  on  State  property, 
should  be  subject  to  the  veto  of  the 
State  Art  Commission,  which  should 
be  made  up  of  the  best  qualified  pro- 
fessional and  lay  talent  obtainable. 

It  would  be  for  the  common  advant- 
age   if    found    to    be    practicable    that 


works  which  pass  through  the  hands 
of  local  art  commissions  should  also  be 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  State 
Art  Commission. 

HOUSING 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  holds  that  good  hous- 
ing conditions  are  the  right  of  all  who 
contribute  the  labor  of  their  hands  or 
brain  to  the  common  cause,  and  are  es- 
sential to  the  national  safety  and  pros- 
jierity,  that  amenity  and  convenience  of 
living  conditions  without  as  well  as  with- 
in the  home  are  necessary  to  content- 
ment and  happiness,  and  that  the  en- 
couragement of  such  conditions  by  the 
dissemination  of  information  to  all  desir- 
ing it  is  a  proper  governmental  function. 

COMMENTARY 

The  question  of  model  housing  for 
workers  has  passed  well  out  of  the 
range  of  mere  idealism.  A  model 
community  is  valued  now,  not  merely 
because  it  is  good  to  look  at,  but  be- 
cause it  is  a  good  place,  and  often  the 
only  place  to  raise  good  citizens. 

During  the  recent  war  it  was  found 
to  be  impossible  to  keep  great  num- 
bers of  workers  on  their  jobs  because 
of  the  scarcity  of  decent  living  con- 
ditions, and  this  not  only  retarded  the 
work  of  the  war  in  quantity  and  quali- 
ty, but  was  a  source  of  enormous  ex- 
pense. To  remedy  this  evil  the  Hous- 
ing Bureau  was  created,  but,  unfor- 
tunately, suspended  just  as  its  work 
was  beginning  to  be  effective.  But 
the  accomplishments  of  this  and  other 
Government  Departments  prove  what 
can  be  done  by  intelligent  and  sympa- 
thetic planning,  even  under  the  ab- 
normal conditions  of  war  time. 

All  those  who  have  had  to  do  with  la- 
bor of  any  kind  are  now  learning  that 
to  be  really  dependable  and  efficient,  it 
must  be  contented.     A  man  cannot  be 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


63 


contented  and  self-respecting  if  he  and 
his  family  have  to  live  in  squalid  and 
unsanitary  hovels.  It  is  not  reason- 
able to  expect  him  to  have  the  quali- 
ties of  a  good  citizen  if  his  surround- 
ings are  such  as  no  owner  of  a  valu- 
able animal  would  tolerate. 

In  the  past,  great  numbers  of  work- 
ers have  submitted  to  live  in  wretched- 
ness because  of  the  scantiness  of  their 
earnings  and  the  fierceness  of  com- 
petition ;  but  this  is  the  class  that  for- 
ever seethes  with  discontent,  that  pro- 
duces so  many  enemies  of  organized 
society,  that  fills  our  jails  and  costs  us 
so  much  for  reformatories  and  police 
forces.  Americanism  cannot  be  born 
and  nurtured  in  squalor  and  misery, 
and  patriotism  and  other  civic  virtues 
are  the  reaction  of  benefits,  not  of  hu- 
miliations. A  man  will  be  grateful  to 
a  community  for  the  advantages  he 
has  received,  not  for  the  privations  he 
and  his  have  endured. 

CITY   PLANNING 

The  A.  S.  L.  A.  urges  on  all  citizens, 
whether  active  in  municipal  affairs  or 
not,  the  importance  of  proper  planning 
in  the  creation  of  new  systems  of  streets 
and  other  open  spaces  and  in  addition  to 
existing  ones.  The  future  convenience 
and  efficiency  of  village  or  city  for  busi- 
ness, recreation  or  residence,  as  well  as 
its  possibilities  of  beauty  are  in  propor- 
tion to  the  forethought  expended  on  its 
plan. 

COMMENT.^RY 
As  the  whole  is  greater  than  its 
parts,  so  the  planning  of  a  city  is  of 
greater  importance  than  the  planning 
of  its  units.  On  the  disposition  of  its 
streets  and  other  open  spaces  depend, 
not  merel)'  the  traffic  conditions,  the 
convenience  and  economj'  of  time  and 
effort  of  all  who  travel  on  wheels  or 
on  foot,  the  facilities  both  for  business 


and  pleasure,  but  the  location  of  every 
building  put  up  in  the  future,  with 
its  relation  to  all  the  other  buildings. 
In  fact,  the  working  of  the  city  as  a 
vast  machine  for  business  and  recrea- 
tion depend  on  the  forethought  with 
which  it  was  originally  laid  out. 

It  does  not  require  a  trained  ob- 
server to  see  that  in  many  of  our  cities 
the  time  and  energy  of  men  and  ma- 
chinery are  wasted  in  incalculable 
quantities  in  travel  by  indirect  routes, 
up  and  down  steep  grades  or  on  con- 
gested streets ;  that  a  bad  distribution 
of  streets  produces  as  a  corollary  a  bad 
distribution  of  buildings,  producing 
congestion  in  one  place,  and  unoccu- 
pied or  badl}'  occupied  land  in  another, 
inflated  values  in  one  locality  and  un- 
duly low  ones  in  another;  in  one  part 
abnormal  activity,  in  another  abnorm- 
al stagnation. 

It  is  a  matter  of  almost  universal 
experience  that,  at  least  in  our  larger 
cities,  the  lack  of  proper  planning  in 
the  beginning  has  resulted  in  many 
evils  now  apparently  past  correction, 
which  are  only  endured  because  the 
cost  of  correcting  them  seems  too 
great  to  be  borne ;  and  that  tedious 
and  costly  processes  of  rectifying  some 
of  the  mistakes  of  the  past  are  going 
on  in  many  places  which  could  have 
been  avoided  by  a  few  strokes  of  a  pen 
impelled  by  the  right  kind  of  reason- 
ing when  the  city  existed  only  on 
paper. 

For  the  lack  of  such  forethought, 
innumerable  towns  and  cities  have 
street  systems  arranged  with  economy 
of  nothing  excepting  the  thought  giv- 
en to  their  design.  In  construction, 
maintenance  and  e.xpenditure  of  time 
and  energy  by  the  traffic  on  them  they 
are  endlessly  lavish.  Parks  and 
other  open  spaces  are  too  few,  too 
small  and  ill-distributed ;  and  the  city 
structure    is    so   monotonous    and    un- 


64 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


imaginative  that  the  proper  display 
and  grouping  of  fine  buildings  is  diffi- 
cult or  impossible. 

A  village  or  city  should  be  designed, 
not  with  regard  to  conventional  no- 
tions of  planning,  but  to  fit  the  topo- 
graphy and  other  basic  conditions. 
The  plan  should  grow  out  of  the  site, 
not  be  arbitrarily  imposed  on  it.  A 
city  that  is  well  planned  for  the  prac- 
tical uses  of  business  and  living  will 
be  the  easiest  to  beautify. 

The  planning  of  the  street  structure, 
the  arteries  of  the  city's  life  has,  in 
the  past,  been  left  in  perfunctory 
hands  because  they  were  able  to  wield 
a  T  square  and  ruling  pen ;  seldom 
does  a  town  show  that  its  planners 
realized  that  the  responsibility  for  its 
future  depended,  in  no  small  measure, 
on  them. 

City  Planning  is  logically  the  pre- 
cursor, not  the  successor  of  communi- 
ty building.  It  has  arrived  last  in  the 
field  of  building  design,  although  it 
should  have  been  the  first.     Now  that 


it  is  here,  let  not  a  young  country  like 
the  United  States,  with  so  many  and 
gigantic  building  enterprises  before  it, 
make  the  mistake  of  ignoring  this  be- 
lated visitor,  without  whose  help  our 
national  household  can  never  be  set 
in  order. 

MEMORIALS  IN   PUBLIC  PLACES 

In  defense  of  the  rights  of  the  com- 
munity in  its  public  places  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 
urges  the  greatest  care  by  all  concerned 
in  the  selection  of  both  design  and  site 
of  public  memorials,  whether  buildings, 
sculpture,  or  of  any  other  kind.  It  urges 
that  it  should  always  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  effect  of  a  memorial  may  be 
greatly  enhanced  or  injured  by  its  set- 
ting or  surroundings.  That  no  memorial 
design  should  be  decided  on  until  ample 
time  has  been  given  to  its  consideration, 
and  that  the  choice  of  both  site  and  de- 
sign should,  whenever  possible,  be  sub- 
ject to  the  approval  of  an  art  commission 
legally  qualified. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


G5 


RESOLUTIONS   PASSED   BY  THE  SOCIETY 

1909—1922 


January  28.   1913. 

Whereas,  The  provision  of  the  Sundry  Civil 
Bill  repealing  the  Tarsney  Act  will  result  in 
putting  the  design  and  construction  of  build- 
ings to  be  erected  by  the  Federal  Government 
in  the  hands  of  salaried  officials  of  probably  in- 
ferior architectural  attainment  and,  therefore, 
unlikely  to  produce  buildings  of  a  high  order 
of  merit,  and 

Whereas,  In  consequence,  the  provision 
above  referred  to  will  be  highly  detrimental 
to  the  character  of  architectural  work  to  be 
undertaken  by  the  Federal  Government  at  pub- 
lic expense,  and 

Whereas,  A  public  building  should  not  only 
be  a  work  of  art,  but  is  necessarily  the  most 
conspicious  kind  of  work  of  art,  and  in  many 
places  the  only  work  of  art  within  reach,  and 
will,  therefore  have  a  continual  and  far  reach- 
ing effect  on  the  taste  and  education  of  the 
people;  and  it  is,  therefore,  of  the  highest  im- 
portance that  public  buildings  should  be  de- 
signed by  the  best  skill  available,  this  being 
only  possible  by  the  employment  of  those,  who 
wherever  they  may  be  found,  are  best  qualified 
for  the  work,   and 

Whereas,  Buildings  planned  under  the  sole 
control  of  a  Government  Department  are  like- 
ly to  have  the  character  of  routine  work,  and 
to  be  of  small  or  even  detrimental  value  as 
works  of  art,  and 

Whereas,  While  the  landscape  architects  are 
not  as  a  rule  primarily  concerned  in  the  de- 
sign and  construction  of  buildings,  the  settings 
or  surroundings  which  should  form  a  unit  with 
the  building,  come  under  their  charge,  and  they 
realize  that  it  is  impossible  to  produce  a  satis- 
factory work  of  which  the  most  conspicuous 
part  is  of  inferior  design. 

Resolved,  That  the  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects  hereby  expresses  its  profound  re- 
gret that  this  action  has  been  taken  in  the 
name  of  an  economy  which  experience  has 
shown  to  be  false;   and  that   it  wishes  to   ex- 


press its  earnest  hope  that  a  new  law  may  soon 
be  passed,  in  which  the  provision  of  the  Tars- 
ney Act  may  be  re-enacted  and  in  some  re- 
spects bettered. 


February  14,  1916. 

Whereas,  The  need  has  long  been  felt  not 
only  for  more  adequate  protection  of  the  sur- 
passing beauty  of  those  primeval  landscapes 
which  the  National  Parks  have  been  created  to 
perpetuate,  but  also  for  rendering  this  land- 
scape beauty  more  readily  enjoyable  through 
construction  in  these  parks  of  certain  neces- 
sary roads  and  buildings  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  visitors  in  a  way  to  bring  the  minimum 
of  injury  to  these  primeval   landscapes; 

Whereas,  The  meeting  of  this  two-fold  need 
can  only  be  expected  to  come  from,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  creation  of  a  special  Government 
Service  charged  with  the  sole  responsibility  for 
the  care  and  maintenance  and,  so  far  as  need 
be,  the  development,  of  these  areas  for  their 
primary  recreative  purpose,  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  from  the  securing  by  such  Government 
Service,  when  created,  of  the  most  expert  pro- 
fessional counsel  to  advise  as  to  the  actual 
treatment  of  these  areas,  including  their  plan- 
ning and  the  design  of  all  necessary  construc- 
tions within  them; 

Whereas,  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior  has 
now  appointed  in  responsible  charge  of  these 
National  Parks,  Stephen  Tyng  Mather,  and  as 
General  Superintendent  of  the  National  Parks, 
under  him  and  in  direct  responsible  relation  to 
these  Park  areas,  Robert  Bradford  Marshall, 
both  public  servants  of  the  highest  character 
and  standing,  and,  in  the  judgment  of  this 
Society,  particularly  qualified  to  be  in  admin- 
istrative charge  of  these  areas,  and  it  is  un- 
derstood that  they  do  not  intend  to  accept  or 
adopt  any  comprehensive  plans  for  these  areas, 
or  designs  for  constructions  which  such  plans 
may  provide  for,  without  first  securing  the  ap- 
proval   of    qualified    experts    advisory,    and    an 


()() 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


earnest  desire  for  the  co-operation  of  this  So- 
ciety has  been  expressed;  and 

Whereas,  A  Bill  (H.  R.  8668)  has  been  in- 
troduced in  Congress  by  Mr.  Kent  of  Cali- 
fornia and  has  been  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Public  Lands,  being  a  Bill  to  Establish  a 
National  Park  Service,  and  drawn  by  members 
of  the  American  Civic  Association  in  Confer- 
ence with  representatives  of  the  American  So- 
ciety of  Landscape  Architects;  be  it,  and  it 
hereby  is, 

Resolved,  First:  That  the  American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects  declares  its  confi- 
dence in  the  present  provisional  administra- 
tion of  the  National  Parks; 

Second:  That  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  endorses  the  Bill  (H.  R. 
8668),  entitled  a  Bill  to  Establish  a  National 
Park  Service  and  pledges  its  utmost  efforts,  in 
co-operation  with  the  American  Civic  Associa- 
tion, to  secure  its  passage; 

Third:  That  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  pledges  itself,  and  invites  its 
individual  members,  to  co-operate  in  every  way 
possible,  and  consistent  with  the  recognized 
ethics  of  the  profession,  with  the  present  pro- 
visional National  Park  Service,  and  with  the 
National  Park  Service  sought  to  be  established 
under  the  aforesaid  Bill. 


to  the  erection  of  the  proposed  power  plant 
in  Washington  on  the  bank  of  the  Potomac, 
or  in  any  other  place  where  it  will  conspicuous- 
ly mar  the  development  of  the  Plan  for  Wash- 
ington, and  to  any  other  such  interference 
with   the   full   realization   of   that  plan. 


February  14,  1916. 

Whereas,  It  is  proposed  to  erect  a  Govern- 
ment power  plant  of  large  proportions  on  the 
bank  of  the  Potomac  in  the  City  of  Washing- 
ton with  four  smoke  chimneys,  each  about 
two  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  in  a  location 
where  they  will  be  seen  conspicuously  from  the 
Capitol,  the  new  Lincoln  Monument,  and  the 
new  East  Potomac  Park,  and  in  relation  with 
the  Washington  Monument;  and 

Whereas,  Such  a  structure  in  this  location 
will  seriously  interfere  with  the  proper  de- 
velopment of  the  great  plan  for  the  City  of 
Washington  originated  by  the  French  engineer 
L'Enfant,  and  recommended  by  the  Park  Com- 
mittee of  the  District  of  Columbia  and  the 
Senate  Committee  on  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, which  plan  in  the  judgment  of  the  Society 
should  be  scrupulously  adhered  to;  be  it  and  it 
hereby  is, 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  is  emphatically  opposed 


March   14,  1916. 

Whereas,  A  Committee,  known  as  the 
Comite  Neerlando-Belge  d'Art  Civique,  has 
been  formed  at  the  Hague,  under  the  patron- 
age of  the  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  Bel- 
gian Government,  for  the  purpose  of  collecting 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  carefully  or- 
ganizing for  convenient  reference  and  im- 
mediate use  at  the  close  of  the  War  or  upon 
the  earlier  recovery  of  Belgian  territory,  all 
possible  data — careful  formulations  of  prin- 
ciples and  clear  records  of  illuminating  facts  of 
experience — which  when  placed  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  at  that  time  may  be  responsible 
for  and  control  the  rebuilding  of  Belgian  cities 
partially  or  wholly  destroyed,  will  help  to  as- 
sure this  rebuilding  shall  not  from  lack  of 
available  information,  be  along  the  lines  of  in- 
efficiency and  ugliness  so  usual  and  so  difficult 
to  avoid  at  such  times  of  feverishly  rapid  re- 
building, particularly  of  the  homes  of  the 
masses  of  the  population,  but  be  along  the 
lines  in  this  case  of  utmost  possible  efficiency, 
economy,  and  beauty,  worthy  of  Belgium's 
noble  traditions  of  efficiency  and  beauty  in 
city-building,  and  of  the  recent  and  continued 
brave  struggle  of  her  people;  and 

Whereas,  Through  a  personal  communica- 
tion from  M.  Louis  van  der  Swaelman,  dis- 
tinguished Landscape  Architect  of  Brussels, 
and  official  City  Planning  advisor  to  Greater 
Brussels,  representing  this  committee,  to  Pro- 
fessor James  Sturgis  Pray,  President  of  the 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects,  the 
professional  aid  of  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  is  earnestly  solicited  in 
the  compiling  and  organizing  of  the  said  in- 
formation in  this  great  task  of  professional 
"preparedness,"  and  in  any  other  possible  ways 
within  the  said  Society's  professional  field;  be 
it,  and  it  hereby  is. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  pledges  its  utmost  pos- 
sible aid  to  the  Committee  known  as  the 
Comite  Neerlando-Belge  d'Art  Civique  in  its 
self-imposed    task    of    professional    "prepared- 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


ness"  for  meeting  effectively  the  problem  of 
rebuilding,  along  efficient  and  beautiful  lines, 
Belgian  cities  wholly  or  partially  destroyed  in 
the  present  War,  and,  in  the  event  that,  at  the 
close  of  the  War,  the  said  Committee  shall 
have  the  opportunity  to  bring  this  "prepared- 
ness" to  bear,  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  will  do  all  in  its  power  to  aid 
the  said  Committee  in  its  great  undertaking. 


December  7,  1918. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  heartily  endorses  the 
spirit  of  the  Platform  adopted  by  the  National 
Municipal  League  Conference  on  Reconstruc- 
tion, at  Rochester,  on  November  22,  1918,  fa- 
voring Government  encouragement  and  super- 
vision of  the  proper  housing  of  industrial 
workers  as  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  an  en- 
lightened public  opinion. 


December   7,    191S. 

Whereas,  The  Architectural  League  of  New 
York  have  expressed  their  willingness  to  es- 
tablish a  gold  medal  in  Landscape  Architec- 
ture to  be  offered  annually  to  the  most  meri- 
torious work  exhibited  at  their  annual  exhibi- 
tion, under  conditions  to  be  established  by  the 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects, 
and  whereas  this  medal  will  be  identical  with 
the  medals  m  Architecture,  Decoration  and 
Sculpture  offered  annually  by  the  League,  be 
it 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  welcome  this  opportuni- 
ty of  promoting  the  advancement  of  the  art  of 
Landscape  Architecture  through  the  helpful 
competition  arising  from  the  establishment  of 
this  medal  and  request  the  Board  of  Trustees 
to  formulate  the  terms  of  the  award  and  sub- 
mit them  to  the  Society  for  approval. 


January   16,   1921. 

Whereas,  There  is  great  need  for  a  really 
adequate  National  Botanic  Garden  and  Ar- 
boretum, in  which  shall  be  tested  and  grown 
living  specimens  of  the  great  range  of  woody 
and  herbaceous  plants  that  are  or  can  be  made 
available  for  use  in  the  L^nited  States  as  their 


qualities  come  to  be  accurately  known,  in 
which  those  qualities  can  be  studied  as  in  no 
other  way,  by  which  the  identitj'  of  plants  can 
be  authoritatively  determined  for  the  purposes 
of  science,  trade  and  art,  and  by  means  of 
which  the  enormously  fruitful  possibilities  of 
plant  breeding  and  of  plant  introduction  under 
safe  conditions  can  best  be  attained;  and 

Whereas,  The  climatic  and  other  conditions 
of  Washington  are  peculiarly  well  adapted  for 
a  Central  Botanic  Garden  and  Arboretum  of 
this  sort, — operating  in  connection  with  a 
limited  number  of  sub-stations  or  affiliated  in- 
stitutions in  the  extreme  climatic  zones  of  the 
country;  and 

Whereas,  A  Committee  of  Congress  has  al- 
ready had  under  consideration,  in  connection 
with  the  proposed  removal  of  the  inadequate 
so-called  Botanic  Garden  which  has  existed  for 
many  years  near  the  Capitol,  a  proposal  for 
the  establishment  of  a  true  National  Botanic 
Garden  and  Arboretum  on  a  tract  in  northeast 
Washington,  some  800  acres  in  extent,  occupy- 
ing in  part  lowland  and  marsh  owned  by  the 
Government  along  the  Anacostia  River,  and  in 
part  a  very  diversified  upland,  including  Mount 
Hamilton,  to  be  acquired  for  the  purpose;  and 

Whereas,  Representatives  of  the  .American 
Society  of  Landscape  Architects  have  examined 
this  tract  and  found  it  to  be  admirably  adapted 
to  the  proposed  National  Scientific  purpose 
and  at  the  same  time  a  valuable  addition  to 
the  local  park  system  of  the  District  of  Col- 
umbia.    Now,   therefore,   be   it 

Resolved,  By  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  that  Congress  be  urged  to  set 
apart  the  said  tract  as  a  National  Botanic 
Garden  and  Arboretum  and  to  adopt  the  most 
carefully  considered  means  for  its  administra- 
tion, on  far-seeing,  scientific,  artistic  and  prac- 
tical lines. 


March   8,   1921. 

Whereas,  The  communities  centering  in  the 
District  of  Columbia  and  in  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, are  giving  rise  to  constantly  increasing 
developments  of  many  kinds  in  the  intervening 
and  surrounding  region,  and 

Whereas,  The  welfare  of  each  of  these  great 
communities  and  of  the  many  lesser  communi- 
ties of  this  region  is  in  many  ways  dependent 


68 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


upon  developments  outside  of  its  own  bound- 
aries, such  as  main  highways  and  other  trans- 
portation facilities,  water  supplies,  sewerage 
or  the  lack  of  it,  and  the  manner  of  utilization 
of  the  land  for  many  economic  and  social  pur- 
poses, and 

Whereas,  Many  important  projects  affecting 
this  region  have  been  and  are  independently 
under  consideration  by  representatives  of  the 
Federal  Government  and  the  District  of  Col- 
umbia, of  the  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia 
and  of  the  City  of  Baltimore,  and  by  various 
groups  of  citizens;  including  for  example,  a 
Metropolitan  Water  Supply  project  for  the 
benefit  of  Washington  and  neighboring  com- 
munities, involving  the  permanent  protection 
of  extensive  water-sheds;  the  utilization  of  the 
Potomac  River  for  electric  power,  light  and 
water  supply  for  Washington;  a  scheme  of 
economic  forest  development;  the  setting  aside 
of  areas  desirable  for  agricultural  experimental 
work  and  kindred  activities  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture;  the  project  for  a  National  Bo- 
tanic Garden  and  Arboretum;  reservations  for 
purposes  of  public  recreation,  as  notably  the 
Gorge  of  the  Potomac  near  Washington,  the 
Valley  of  the  Patapsco  near  Baltimore  and  the 
strongly  advocated  National  Forest  and  Park 
in  the  wooded  area  adjacent  to  Washington; 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  urge  upon  the  States  of 
Maryland  and  Virginia  and  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment, that  a  Joint  Commission  or  other 
suitable  agency  be  authorized  and  directed  to 
report  upon  a  preliminary,  comprehensive  re- 
gional plan  for  the  principal  features  of  develop- 
ment having  more  than  a  local  importance  in 
the  region  including  the  suburban  areas  of 
the  District  of  Columbia  and  of  the  City  of 
Baltimore,  and  such  portions  of  the  Counties 
of  Baltimore,  Anne  Arundel,  Howard,  Prince 
George  and  Montgomery  in  Maryland  and  of 
the  County  of  Fairfax  in  Virginia  as  have  com- 
mon   concern    with    the    expanding    needs    and 


developments    centering    in    Washington    and 
Baltimore 


November   8,   1931. 

Resolved,  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  is  opposed  to  the  indis- 
criminate cutting  of  the  foliage  of  Mountain 
Laurel  (Kalmia  latifolia)  and  its  use  for  dec- 
orative purposes;  that  the  members  of  the  So- 
ciety use  their  influence  to  prevent  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  plant  through  commercial  uses 
along  with  that  of  other  wild  flowers  and  na- 
tive foliage  plants. 


January   16,   1922. 

Whereas,  There  has  been  established  at 
Brussels,  Belgium,  an  organization  known  as 
"I'Union  Internationale  des  Villes,"  (The  In- 
ternational Union  of  Cities),  that  by  means  of 
its  main  Centre  of  Civic  Documentation  at 
Brussels  and  of  its  other  Subsidiary  Centres 
in  all  civilized  lands  in  collecting  and  dissem- 
inating contemporaneous  data  in  regard  to 
civic  affairs,  and 

Whereas,  It  seems  to  the  American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects  that  it  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance  that  America  join  in  this 
movement,  so  that  our  progressive  communi- 
ties and  civic  organizations  may  benefit  by 
freely  receiving  this  invaluable  data,  be  it 

Resolved,  1:  That  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  endorses  this  movement 
and  will  give  to  it  its  heartiest  support. 

2:  That  the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects  favors  the  establishment  in  Wash- 
ing of  a  suitable  agency  that  shall  be  em- 
powered to  organize  in  co-operation  with  the 
Library  of  Congress  an  American  Centre  of 
Civic  Documentation,  to  be  affiliated  with  the 
International  Union  of  Cities  and  its  Inter- 
national  Centre  at   Brussels. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


69 


REPORTS  OF  CHAPTERS 


BOSTON  SOCIETY  OF  LANDSCAPE 
ARCHITECTS 

The  Boston  Society  of  Landscape  Archi- 
tects was  organized  January  23.  1913,  with 
twenty-seven  Charter  Members.  In  December 
1921  it  had  twenty-five  members,  one  hon- 
orary member  and  one  associate  member.  The 
Society  became  a  Chapter  of  the  American 
Society  of  Landscape  Architects  on  Decem- 
ber  21,    1914. 

It  has  held  an  average  of  four  meetings 
yearly.  Once  each  year  since  1915  it  has  par- 
ticipated in  a  Boston  meeting  of  the  American 
Society.  In  1915  and  in  several  subsequent 
years  it  has  held  field  days,  visiting  works  of 
landscape  architecture  near  Boston.  Meetings 
have  been  well  attended  by  members  and  their 
guests  and  the  discussion  of  papers  and  topics 
presented  has  been  keen. 

The  business  of  the  Societj'  has  been  car- 
ried on  by  an  Executive  Committee  of  five, 
which  has  met  several  times  each  year  to 
transact  its  business. 

In  February  1915  the  Society  held  its  first 
Exhibition.  In  November  1916.  November 
1917.  April  1920  and  February  1921.  the  So- 
ciety co-operated  with  the  Boston  Society  of 
.'Architects  and  others  in  a  joint  exhibition  that 
attracted  considerable  attendance  and  pub- 
licity. 

The  Society  has  investigated  and  reported 
on  pending  legislation  on  city  planning  and 
related  matters  and  has  supported  such  meas- 
ures as  were  deemed  sufficiently  meritorious. 
It  has  taken  a  positive  stand  against  state 
registration  of  landscape  architects  or  such 
registration  of  architects  or  engineers  as 
would  interfere  with  the  landscape  architects' 
reasonable  field  of  practice. 

Since  1917  the  Society  has  been  affiliated 
with  the  Massachusetts  Federation  of  Planning 
Boards  and  has  co-operated  with  it  in  such 
matters  as  securing  laws  permitting  zoning 
and  regulating  bill-boards  and  securing  a  state 
Division  of  Housing  and  Town  Planning  to 
promote  local  activity  by  Planning  Boards. 
Recently  the  Society  has  become  a  member  of 


the  New  England  Trail  Conference,  active  in 
securing  responsible  maintenance  of  foot- 
trails  and  developing  a  system  of  through 
trails,  particularly  in  New  England  highlands, 
an  clement  of  regional  planning  and  the  re- 
creational system. 

Special  Committees  have  done  important 
work  in  many  directions,  notably  in  promoting 
an  adequate  development  of  the  Back  Bay 
Fens  in  the  Boston  park  system  and  in  pre- 
paring for  distribution  jointly  with  the  Bos- 
ton Society  of  Architects  an  illustrated 
pamphlet  on  War  Memorials. 


II. 


NEW   YORK    CHAPTER 

Looking  back  over  his  memories  and  over 
the  records  of  the  New  York  Chapter  during 
its  eight  years  of  existence  since  1914,  the 
writer  finds  its  history  to  be  made  up  of  hopes, 
plans  and  aspirations  more  or  less  imperfectly 
realized.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  the  plans 
for  the  future  that  were  subjects  of  current 
discussion  among  members  and  were  sum- 
med up  by  F.  Vitale  in  his  program  of  De- 
cember 22,   1915: 

A  series  of  dinners  to  prominent  artists,  to 
park  department  authorities  and  to  editors. 

A  public  exhibition  of  our  work. 

Greater  eflforts  for  co-operation  with  socie- 
ties of  allied  arts. 

Greater   interest   in   horticultural  exhibitions. 

Greater  activity  in  the  Architectural  League. 

Publicity,  based  on  accomplished  work  of 
members. 

Revival  of  lunch  meetings. 

More  and  better  personal  intercourse. 

Criticism  of  each  other's  work. 

Summer  meetings  and  visits  to  works  of 
landscape  design. 

Record  of  employes  of  all  classes. 

Closer  touch  with  nurserymen. 

Closer  touch  with  schools  and  universities. 

Definite  progress  has  been  made  in  the  di- 
rection of  most  of  these,  much  progress  in 
some  of  them.  The  progress  continues  and 
should  do  so.  But,  to  the  writer,  it  seems  that 
by  far  the  greatest  progress  made  by  the 
Chapter   has   been   in   wider   and   closer   touch 


ro 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


with  artists  of  other  classes,  and  with  editors 
and  other  outsiders.  All  those  whom  we  have 
approached  have  shown  willingness  to  meet 
us  half  way,  to  sympathize  with  our  ideals  and 
aid  in  their  accomplishment.  Artists  in  par- 
ticular, have  shown  their  willingness  to  fra- 
ternize. It  is  merely  necessary  to  show  that 
we  have  something  worth  while  to  contribute 
to  the  common  cause  of  art  to  be  welcomed 
into  the  fellowship.  More  especially  has  this 
been  brought  about  through  the  Architectural 
League  in  which  one  or  more  of  our  members 
have  been  active  for  the  past  fourteen  years, 
during  all  of  which  time  there  has  been  one 
of  us  on  the  Executive  Committee.  Land- 
scape work  now  has  a  definite  place  of  its  own 
in  the  exhibition,  and  the  medal  in  landscape 
architecture,  due  to  the  efforts  of  Ferruccio 
Vitale,  has  established  this  beyond  peradven- 
ture.  Our  membership  in  the  Fine  Arts  Fed- 
eration also  has  helped  a  good  deal.  It  will  be 
clear  from  what  follows  that  the  New  York 
Chapter  has  pursued  consistently,  if  intermit- 
tently, a  policy  of  seeking  contact  with  those 
in  other  walks  of  life  with  (it  is  believed) 
mutual  advantage  and  resultant  publicity  for 
our  Chapter  and  our  art. 

Chronological  record  of  outstanding  events: 
The  New  York  Chapter  was  actually  or- 
ganized in  the  office  of  Ferruccio  Vitale,  and 
James  L.  Greenleaf  was  chosen  President. 
The  first  meeting  was  held  at  the  Transpor- 
tation Club  in  the  old  Manhattan  Hotel  (where 
many  meetings  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  were  held). 
Mr.  Greenleaf  began  his  term  of  office  by  urg- 
ing those  essentials  of  success  in  such  a  body 
as  ours,  good  fellowship  and  loyalty  to  each 
other  and  to  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  The  Constitu- 
tion and  By-Laws  (drawn  up  by  H.  A.  Cap- 
arn)  were  adopted,  and  standing  committees 
on  Parks,  Publicity  and  Entertainment  ap- 
pointed. Annual  dues  were  fixed  at  $10  for 
Fellows  and  $5  for  Juniors. 

The  Committee  on  Parks  has  always  been 
watchful  and  was  able  to  exert  a  not  incon- 
siderable influence  on  park  affairs,  at  least 
when  the  city  landscape  architect  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the   Chapter. 

Subsequently,  the  Schedule  of  Practice  and 
Charges  (drawn  up  by  H.  A.  Caparn)  was 
adopted. 

In  1915  the  Chapter  was  admitted  to  mem- 
bership in  the  Fine  Arts  Federation,  which  is 
a  convention  of  delegates  from  the  principal 
artistic    societies    of    New    York    City,    whose 


chief  function  is  to  nominate  candidates  from 
whom  the  Mayor  selects  the  members  of  the 
City  Art  Commission.  Before  applying  for 
admission,  enough  members  of  the  Federation 
were  sounded  (by  H.  A.  Caparn)  to  make  it 
practically  certain  that  our  entry  would  be 
welcome.  This,  as  well  as  other  dealings,  as 
a  body,  with  outsiders,  appears  to  show  the 
great  popularity  of  our  Art. 

In  the  summer  of  1915  there  was  a  meeting 
and  visit  to  the  Essex  County  Parks,  New 
Jersey,  laid  out  by  C.  N.  Lowrie. 

Ferruccio  Vitale  was  elected  President  for 
1916-1917.  January  25th  was  the  date  of  a 
notable  dinner  at  the  Hotel  Brevoort  at  which 
were  present  Miss  Gertrude  Kasebier,  photog- 
rapher, Messrs.  Lionel  Moses,  W.  A.  Boring, 
C.  Grant  LaFarge,  W.  Rutherford  Mead,  archi- 
tects, Frank  P.  Fairbanks,  painter,  and  Her- 
bert Adams  and  D.   C.   French,   sculptors. 

On  March  15th  was  given  another  dinner 
with  a  number  of  guests,  mostly  connected 
with   the   Park   Department. 

In  December  a  cup  was  purchased  by  the 
Chapter  to  be  presented  at  the  Annual  Flower 
Show  to  the  nurseryman  or  florist  giving  the 
best  exhibition  of  plants  according  to  specifi- 
cations of  the  New  York  Chapter. 

On  February  6th,  a  dinner  was  given  to  the 
members  of  the  Bronx  Parkway  Commission 
followed  by  description  of  the  work  on  the 
Parkway,  with   slides. 

On  March  6th,  there  was  a  dinner  with 
guests.  Professors  William  A.  Boring,  of  Co- 
lumbia; E.  Gorton  Davis,  of  Cornell;  and 
Laurie  D.  Cox,  of  Syracuse;  and  A.  W.  Cowell, 
of  Pennsylvania  State  College.  A  lengthy  dis- 
cussion on  the  subject  of  Education  followed. 
Charles  N.  Lowrie  was  President  during 
1918-1919.  For  most  of  1917-1918  the  war  ab- 
sorbed a  great  deal  of  the  thought  and  energy 
of  most  people  and  the  activities  of  the  New 
York  Chapter  were  mostly  directed  towards 
Peace  with  Victory.  There  were  only  such 
meetings  as  were  necessary  to  support  the 
War  Garden  movement  and  to  keep  the  Chap- 
ter together. 

Later  the  Chapter  took  up  the  subjects  of 
War  Memorials.  Housing,  the  relations  of  the 
landscape  architect  with  contractors  and  nurs- 
erymen. At  the  meeting  of  February  5,  1918, 
Dr.  T.  J.  Headloe,  State  Entomologist  of  New 
Jersey  was  the  principal  guest,  and  war  gar- 
dens were  discussed. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  December  19th.  H. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


71 


A.  Caparn  gave  an  illustrated  talk  on  War 
Memorials. 

Harold  A.  Caparn  was  President,  1920-1921. 
The  chief  activities  in  1920  were  in  the  field 
of  publicity  and  the  beginning  of  the  cam- 
paign for  the  reform  of  the  City  Parks  Ad- 
ministration. There  were  regular  meetings  on 
these  subjects  in  January.  February  and 
March,  and  on  April  27th,  there  was  a  dinner 
at  the  City  Club  with  a  meeting  at  which  were 
present  the  editors  of  Country  Life,  the  Spur, 
House  and  Garden,  the  Architectural  Review 
and  others.  R.  Schermerhorn  gave  an  illus- 
trated lecture  on  "Early  American  Countrj' 
Estates." 

In  June  there  was  a  trip  to  Long  Island 
Country  estates  in  Mr.  Henry  Hick's  automo- 
biles. 

On  November  16th,  the  campaign  for  park 
reform  was  opened  by  a  dinner  at  the  City 
Club  at  which  were  present  eleven  guests 
prominent  in  New  York  City  afifairs.  The  pro- 
ject was  explained  and  discussed,  and  the 
guests  were  unanimous  in  approval  and  en- 
couragement. 

On  February  16,  1921,  there  was  a  dinner  at 
the  City  Club  with  eleven  guests  from  ten 
civic  and  other  organizations.  Their  approval 
and  encouragement  of  our  project  was  also 
enthusiastic. 

Later,  a  committee  of  seven  with  Lowrie, 
Vitale  and  Caparn  and  four  outsiders  (Col. 
Henry  W.  Sackett,  Frank  B.  Williams,  and 
Professor  Joseph  P.  Chamberlain  of  Colum- 
bia, lawyers,  and  Charles  F.  Neergaard  of 
Brooklyn)  was  formed  to  draw  up  a  scheme 
of  reform  for  presentation  to  the  forthcoming 
Charter  Revision  Commission.  Many  sessions 
were  held,  and  the  Official  Statement  contain- 
ing an  outline  of  the  scheme  proposed  was 
printed  and  circulated  among  individuals  and 
organizations  likely  to  appreciate  it.  The  re- 
sponse has  been  very  encouraging,  and  we 
have  the  endorsement  of  many  individuals 
and  organizations.  The  scheme  of  reform  will 
be  offered  to  the  Charter  Revision  Commis- 
sion as  soon  as  a  new  Chairman  is  appointed, 
or   before. 

There  was  another  trip  in  the  Hicks  auto- 
mobiles in  June. 

Harold  A.  Caparn  was  re-elected  for  1922- 
1923  to  carry  on  the  park  reform  campaign. 
At  this  meeting  (December  13,  1921)  W.  V. 
Van  Ingen,  painter,  gave  a  talk  on  the  Chi- 
cago South  Park  System,  its  design  and  man- 
agement,   illustrated   by   his   own   drawings. 


MID-WEST  CHAPTER 

The  Middle  West  Chapter  was  organized  in 
December  1916,  with  a  membership  of  twelve, 
— important  cities  such  as  St.  Louis,  Chicago. 
Kansas  City,  Detroit,  Cleveland,  Columbus 
and  Toledo  being  represented.  Today  the 
total  membership  of  the  Chapter  is  twenty- 
seven. 

The  most  important  activities  of  the  Chap- 
ter are  as  follows: 

During  the  winter  of  1921  a  committee  was 
named  to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of 
the  proposed  registration  law  for  architects, 
engineers  and  landscape  architects,  known  as 
House  Bill  No.  161,  of  the  Ohio  Legislature. 
The  chapter  of  landscape  architects  thoroughly 
investigated  and  opposed  the  passage  of  this 
bill  and  also  opposed  the  adoption  of  any 
registration  law  for  landscape  architects, 
which  would  place  them  in  a  false  relation  to 
architects  and  engineers  without  proper  rep- 
resentation on  executive  committees  or  coun- 
sels. This  bill  was  defeated  because  of  the 
opposition  from  various  sources. 

During  the  winter  of  1921  the  Chapter  held 
a  joint  meeting  with  the  Cleveland  Chapter  of 
the  A.  I.  A.  at  which  meeting  important  ques- 
tions such  as  registration  laws  for  architects 
and  landscape  architects,  a  proposed  course  of 
architecture  and  landscape  architecture  in  the 
Cleveland  School  of  Art,  the  encroachment 
upon  the  national  park  property,  and  the  prop- 
er relation  among  architects,  landscape  archi- 
tects and  clients,  were  discussed. 

In  January  1921  the  Chapter  sent  an  official 
communication  to  all  of  the  departments  of 
landscape  architecture  within  the  general  juris- 
diction of  this  Chapter,  making  suggestions 
for  the  improvement  of  the  curriculum  in  these 
institutions  in  order  that  the  institutions  could 
render  a  better  service  to  students  by  more 
adequately  fitting  them  for  their  life's  work  as 
landscape  architects  after  the  completion  of 
their  college  course.  It  is  the  feeling  of  the 
Chapter  that  more  attention  could  well  be 
paid  to  making  graduates  really  valuable  as- 
sets to  a  professional  office  immediately  fol- 
lowing their  college  work. 

One  of  the  recent  activities  of  this  Chapter 
is  the  work  of  co-operating  with  the  Women's 
National  Farm  and  Garden  Association.  This 
Chapter  supplied  one  of  the  problems  for  this 
competition  and  also  was  represented  on  the 
jury. 


72 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


The  most  recent  activity  of  the  Chapter  was 
the  work  of  joining  hands  with  Cleveland's 
Chapter  of  Architects  in  the  development  of 
two  models  showing  correct  and  incorrect  so- 
lutions of  a  home  building  problem  on  a  lot 
100  feet  by  200  feet.  The  object  of  these  mod- 
els is  to  demonstrate  to  the  public  the  great 
value  of  proper  co-operation  among  architects, 
landscape  architects  and  owners  in  the  de- 
velopment of  a  home. 

The  Chapter  gave  encouragement  and  sup- 
port to  the  establishment  of  a  summer  travel 
course,  both  abroad  and  in  the  United  States, 
which  opens  this  year  at  Ohio  State  Universi- 
ty- 

At  Columbus  and  other  cities,  members  of 
the  Chapter  have  taken  an  active  part  in  co- 
operative architectural  and  landscape  architec- 
tural as  well  as  City  Planning  exhibitions. 


IV. 


MINNESOTA   CHAPTER 

On  February  35,  1913,  at  the  call  of  Phelps 
Wyman,  Fellow,  the  Minnesota  members  of 
the  A.  S.  L.  A.  met  to  form  a  Provisional 
Chapter.  A  provisional  constitution  was 
adopted  and  filed  with  our  Executive  Com- 
mittee. At  this  meeting,  A.  U.  Morell  was 
Chairman  and  C.  H.  Ramsdell,  Secretary  pro 
tem. 

Formal  application  to  form  our  Chapter  was 
made  August  24,  1913,  when  a  revised  con- 
stitution for  the  Chapter  was  filed  with  the 
Executive  Committee.  In  January  1915,  an  in- 
formal vote  of  the  Fellows  of  our  Society  was 
favorable  and  on  December  6,  1915,  our  Chap- 
ter was  duly  voted  into  existence  and  our 
Constitution  of  February  5,  1914,  was  accept- 
ed by  the  Executive  Committee. 

During  this  formative  period,  Phelps  Wy- 
man was  President,  C.  H.  Ramsdell,  Secretary 
of  the  Provisional  Chapter.  Policies  of  name, 
field  of  activities,  spheres  of  influence,  were 
actively  considered  and  adopted. 

Our  Statement  of  Practice,  the  work  of  this 
period,  has  since  been  revised,  but  is  still  ac- 
cepted as  the  standard  of  our  Chapter,  re- 
ceiving favorable  comment  by  the  officers  of 
the  parent  society. 

The  first  ofificers  elected  held  over  until  De- 
cember 31,  1919,  when  A.  R.  Nichols  was 
elected  President  and  George  L.  Nason,  Sec- 
retary-Treasurer. 

During  the  winter  of  1913,  several  informal 
meetings   were    held   with   discussion   of   plans 


and  reports  of  members.  Our  guests  included 
students  from  the  offices,  landscape  contrac- 
tors, other  landscape  architects  and  park  su- 
perintendents. 

During  the  years  of  1913-1914  and  1915,  our 
activities  were  largely  routine,  but  competitive 
exhibitions  were  entered  into,  after  discussion 
of  policy.  The  Chapter  was  active  in  the 
Minnesota  Farmstead  Competition,  fathered  by 
the  State  Art  Society.  The  results  were  pub- 
lished together  with  the  Model  Farm  Homes 
Competition   by  the   State  Art  Society. 

In  1916.  the  question  of  a  full  course  of 
Landscape  Architecture  was  taken  up  with  the 
Regents  of  the  University  of  Minnesota.  Our 
Chapter  promoted  the  idea  that  a  full  course 
was  not  desirable  but  that  an  elementary 
course  for  students,  gardeners,  and  superm- 
tendents  was  advisable  and  this  idea  prevailed. 
Later,  one  of  our  Chapter  members  was  asked 
to  carry  on  each  winter  for  a  three  months' 
period,  a  lecture  course  to  Senior  Architects 
of  the  College  of  Architecture  and  Engineer- 
ing. This  is  still  the  accepted  method  of  study 
at  our  State  University. 

During  the  War  period,  1917-1918,  our  Chap- 
ter activities  were  much  abridged  by  absence 
of  our  members  on  various  lines  of  war  work. 
The  Chapter  had  a  100%  attendance  at  the 
rather  historic  Washington  meeting  of  the 
Society  in  December,  1918. 

In  1919  and  1920,  the  State  Registration  Law 
for  Architects,  Engineers  and  Land  Survey- 
ors was  discussed  at  length  and  advice  asked 
of  our  officers  and  other  chapters.  This  has 
been  followed  to  date,  but  it  is  likely  our 
members  will  soon  register  under  this  law  due 
to  state  wide  conditions  and  our  own  needs 
and  protection.  The  Chapter  was  active  at 
this  time  in  promoting  our  state  laws  for  city 
planning  which  have  since  been  passed. 

In  July  1921,  an  illustrated  talk  by  Mr.  Car- 
hart,  Recreational  Director  of  the  U.  S.  For- 
estry Service  was  much  enjoyed  by  our  mem- 
bers  and   invited   architects   present. 

Late  in  1921,  our  Chapter  put  in  the  hands 
of  our  Senators,  Twin  City  representatives  in 
Congress,  as  well  as  all  Minneapolis  and  Saint 
Paul  papers,  the  report  on  the  proposed  Se- 
quoia-Roosevelt National  Park  and  Kings 
River  Reserve.  This  report  by  the  Society's 
President,  Mr.  Olmsted,  and  Mr.  Fitzgerald  is 
worthy  of  all  possible  publicity  as  a  national 
policy  for  our  Society. 

This  resume  of  Chapter  activities,  does  not 
mention  the  work  of  members  on  the  several 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITF.CTS 


73 


committees  of  our  Society.  This  has  not  been 
neglected,  as  our  Society  records  will  show. 

We  are  glad  to  report  a  much  better  public 
appreciation  of  good  landscape  work  and  the 
city  planning  idea  (with  the  city  zoning  plans 
as  necessary  thereto),  since  our  Chapter  was 
formed.  Our  profession  is  more  widely  rec- 
ognized and  results  will  show  greater  advance 
in  the  next  ten  years. 

Our  Chapter  now  numbers  four  voting  mem- 
bers and  three  junior  members. 

With  the  wider  travel  and  acquaintance  of 
our  members  with  members  serving  as  park 
commissioners,  as  city  planners,  at  the  State 
University,  together  with  memberships  in 
allied  societies,  chapters,  the  Minnesota  Chap- 
ter is  bound  to  have  more  effective  influence 
in  the  years  to  come. 


P.^CIFIC  COAST  CH.'>iPTER 

The  Pacific  Coast  Chapter  was  established 
in  Washington,  D.  C,  in  the  spring  of  1919, 
as  a  Provisional  Chapter  of  the  American  So- 
ciety of  Landscape  Architects.  President.  W. 
D.  Cook,  Jr.,  of  Los  Angeles,  Vice-President, 
Stephen  Child,  of  San  Francisco,  and  Secre- 
tary-Treasurer, E.  T.  Mische,  of  Portland, 
Oregon.  There  were  no  other  members  of 
the  American  Society  practicing  on  the  Coast 
at  that  time.  A  Constitution  and  By-Laws 
were  drawn  up  and  submitted  to  the  parent 
body  for  their  approval. 

Due  to  the  unusual  conditions  prevailing  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  in  the  practice  of  Landscape 
Architecture,  whereby  many  nurserymen  and 
engineers  call  tliemselves  landscape  architects 
and  contract  for  work,  and  due  to  the  general 
public  failing  to  discriminate  between  the  tech- 
nically trained  man  practicing  professionally  and 
the  contractor  type,  our  Chapter  during  its  ex- 
istence has  made  strenuous  efforts  to  uphold 
the  ethics  of  the  profession  and  to  get  rec- 
ognition as  a  "profession"  included  under  the 
head  of  fine  arts.  Our  limited  membership  and 
the  fact  that  the  Executive  Committee  officers 
were  widely  separated  added  to  our  difficulties 
in  getting  concerted  action. 

In  1920  the  following  were  elected  to  mem- 
bership in  the  Chapter:  George  D.  Hall,  Fel- 
low of  th<  A.  S.  L.  A.,  Charles  P.  Punchard, 
Member,  A.  S.  L.  A.;  and  the  Hon  F.  D. 
Blanchard,  in  appreciation  of  his  great  activi- 
ties in  Civic  Improvement  was  elected  an  Hon- 


orary Member.  The  Chapter  keenly  feels  the 
loss  of  Charles  Punchard,  whose  untimely 
death  cut  short  the  splendid  work  he  was  do- 
ing. 

On  January  18,  1921,  George  D.  Hall  was 
elected  Secretary,  while  E.  T.  Mische  remained 
our  Treasurer.  This  action  was  taken  in  or- 
der to  expedite  action  through  the  Executive 
Committee,  and  it  is  hoped  that  changes  may 
be  made  in  our  by-laws  which  cannot  function 
properly. 

An  affiliation  between  the  Southern  Cali- 
fornia Chapter  of  the  American  Institute  of 
-Architects  and  the  Pacific  Coast  Chapter  is  an 
accomplished  fact  and  is  tending  toward  a 
better  understanding  between  the  two  profes- 
sions. This  affiliation  is  in  reality  an  associa- 
tion only,  our  Chapter  having  carefully  guard- 
ed its  entire  independence  of  action  as  to  any 
resolutions  or  votes  that  may  be  passed. 

Our  Chapter  is  also  associated  in  the  Joint 
Technical  Societies  of  Los  Angeles,  comprising 
the  local  members  of  the  American  Society  of 
Civil  Engineers,  the  American  Institute  of 
Electrical  Engineers,  the  .Vmerican  Society  of 
Mechanical  Engineers,  the  American  Chemical 
Society,  the  American  Institute  of  Mining 
Engineers,  the  American  Institute  of  Archi- 
tects and  the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects.  The  President  and  Secretary  of 
our  Chapter  are  members  of  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee representing  the  above  Societies.  Here 
again  we  have  carefully  guarded  our  entire  in- 
dependence of  action  as  to  any  resolutions  or 
votes,  which  may  be  of  more  than  local  im- 
portance. 

"The  Architect  and  Engineer,"  published  in 
San  Francisco,  carries  the  official  listing  of  our 
Chapter,  and  is  very  kindly  publishing  the 
activities  of  the  Professional  Landscape  Archi- 
tect here  on  the  Coast.  "The  California  South- 
land" is  also  doing  much  to  help  our  cause, 
and  "Park  and  Recreation,"  of  which  E.  T. 
Mische  is  an  Editor  is  proposing  to  do  much 
in  this  line. 

During  the  year  1921,  our  Chapter  Member- 
ship was  increased  by  the  election  of  John 
William  Gregg,  Professor  at  the  University 
of  California,  and  Frederick  N.  Evans,  Super- 
intendent of  Parks  at  Sacramento,  California, 
both  members  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 

Our  Chapter  is  doing  what  it  can  to  advance 
the  high  standard  of  Professional  Ethics  and 
Practice  laid  down  by  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  but  it 
continues  to  urge  that  the  parent  body  under- 
take a  broad  and  dignified  publicity  of  the  pro- 


74 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


fession,  and  of  its  membership,  in  order  that 
a  clearer  understanding  of  our  profession  may 
reach  the  general  public. 

The  Los  Angeles  members  of  the  Pacific 
Coast  Chapter  are  taking  an  active  part,  with- 
out remuneration,  in  the  Regional  Plan  Con- 
ference for  Los  Angeles  County.  This  con- 
ference comprises  committees  striving  to  point 
out   the   regional   needs    for   co-operation    and 


co-ordination  in  planning  for  Major  Highways, 
Parks  and  Boulevards,  Standard  Zoning  Or- 
dinances, Adequate  Sewers  and  Water  Supply, 
the  preparation  of  a  Topographic  Map,  and 
the  financial  and  legal  side  of  the  question  in- 
volved in  the  development  of  a  comprehen- 
sive Regional  Plan.  W.  D.  Cook  is  serving  on 
the  Subdivision  Committee,  and  George  D. 
Hall,  is  on  the  Highways  Committee. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


75 


WAR  RECORDS  OF  THOSE  WHO  WERE 
FELLOWS  AND  MEMBERS 

DURING   THE   YEARS  1917   AND  1918 


Note:  Abbreviations  are  used  wherever  possible,  and  while  most  of  them  are  self-explanatory, 
whenever  U.  S.  H.  C.  occurs,  it  will  be  understood  to  refer  to  the  UNITED  STATES  HOUSING 
CORPORATION,  the  executive  organization  formed  within  the  Bureau  of  Industrial  Housing 
and  Transportation  of  the  Department  of  Labor;  C.  P.  S.  refers  to  the  Camp  Planning  Section  of 
the  Construction  Division.  War  Dept..  and  T.  P.  D.  to  the  Town  Planning  Division  of  the  U.  S.  H.  C. 


FELLOWS 

Note:  Of  the  forty-five  persons  who  were  Fellows   of   the   Society   during   the   years   of    1917 
and   1918,  thirty-four  reported  War  Work  as  follows: 


BRETT,  F.  Camp  Planner.  War  Dept.. 
Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.  July  8.  1918,  to  January 
8,   1919.     Private  office  closed. 

BRINCKERHOFF.  A.  F.  Camp  Planner, 
War  Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.  In  charge  of 
plans  for  Camp  Gordon,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  Camp 
Humphreys,  Va.,  during  1917  and  1918.  Town 
Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Projects  at 
Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  and  Elizabeth,  N.  J. 
Part  time  only.     Private  office   maintained. 

BUTTON,  F.  Camp  Planner,  War  Dept., 
Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.,  for  Camp  at  Fort  Benja- 
min Harrison,  Ind.,  Sept.  1,  to  Nov.  10,  1918. 
Private   office    maintained. 

CAPARN,  H.  A.  Landscape  .'\rchitect  and 
Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Pro- 
jects at  the  Alabama  Nitrate  Towns  of  Flor- 
ence, Shefield  and  Tuscumbia  from  August  8 
to  November  12,  1918.  Private  office  main- 
tained. 

CHILD,  S.  Landscape  .Architect,  Town 
Planner,  and  later  District  Town  Planner,  T. 
P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Projects  at  Indian  Head, 
Md.,  Dahlgren,  Va.,  Aberdeen,  Md.,  Ilion,  N. 
Y.,  Stamford,  Conn.  April  24,  1918,  to  June 
.30,  1919.     Private  office  closed. 

COOK.  W.  D.  Camp  Planner  and  Super- 
vising Field  Planner,  War  Dept.,  Const.  Div., 
C.  P.  S.  Projects  at  Camps  Lewis,  Fremont 
and  Kearney,  at  Columbia,  S.  C,  Atlanta,  Ga., 


.'\nniston,  .Ala.,  Columbus.  Ga..  and  Benning- 
ton, Ky.  Worked  on  plans  for  tuberculosis 
hospital  at  Markelton,  Pa.,  Cape  May,  N.  J., 
and  Charleston,  S.  C,  Aviation  Field,  Presidio, 
San  Francisco,  Cal.  February  13,  1918,  to 
October  22,  1919.     Private  office  closed. 

D.\WSON,  J.  F.  Project  Town  Planner, 
T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C,  for  the  project  at  Ne- 
ville Island,  near  Pittsburg,  Penn.,  fall  of  1919. 

DE  FOREST.  .\.  S.  Landscape  Architect 
and  Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C. 
Projects  at  .'Mliance,  Niles  and  Warren.  Ohio, 
and  Sharon,  Pa.  July  1,  1918,  to  June  11,  1919. 
Maintained  private  office. 

FARRAND,  MRS.  BEATRIX.  Report 
reads,  "did  not  do  any  work  which  could  be 
specifically  called  war  work." 

GREENLEAF.  J.  L.  Camp  Planner,  War 
Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.  part  time  1918- 
1919.  Plans  for  Camp  Lee,  Petersburg,  Va. 
Town  Planner  for  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  pro- 
ject at  Charleston,  West  Virginia,  part  time 
1918-1919.     Maintained  office. 

HALL,  G.  D.  Camp  Planner,  War  Dept., 
Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.  March  2.  1918,  to  March 
3,  1919.  Plans.  Inspections  and  Supervision 
for  Remount  Depots,  Veterinary  Hospitals,  at 
Camps  Jackson,  Lee  and  Humphrey,  etc. 
Supervision  work,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  pro- 
ject at  Craddock.  Va..  March  3  to  May  1,  1919. 


76 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


HUBBARD,  H.  V.  Surveyor  and  later  As- 
sistant Engineer  in  charge  of  construction  at 
Camp  Devens,  Mass.,  1917.  Designer,  War 
Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S..  1917.  Designer, 
Emergency  Fleet  Corp.,  U.  S.  Shipping  Board. 
Expert  with  Housing  Commission,  Council  of 
National  Defense.  Assistant  Manager,  T.  P. 
D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  and  Editor  of  its  Technical 
Report  (i.  e.  Vol.  II)  May,  1917,  to  July,  1919. 
Private  office  closed. 

KELLAWAY,  H.  J.  Camp  Planner,  War 
Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.,  for  Camp  Devens, 
Ayer,  Mass.,  March  25,  1917,  to  October  19, 
1917,  also  for  additions  to  Camps  Meade,  Up- 
ton, Dix  and  Devens.  February  8  to  March 
7,  1918.  Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C, 
for  their  projects  at  Quincy,  Mass.,  and  at 
Port  Penn,  Pa.,  May  13,  1918,  to  November  19, 
1919.  Maintained  private  office,  during  this 
time,  largely  for  the  above  work. 

LANGDON,  J.  G.  Reports  many  interest- 
ing and  important  activities  in  connection  with 
his  work  in  the  office  of  Public  Buildings  and 
Grounds,  Washington,  D.  C. 

LAY,  C.  D.  Town  Planner  for  T.  P.  D., 
U.  S.  H.  C,  for  three  of  their  projects  at 
Erie,  Penn.,  and  for  one  project  at  Butler, 
Penn.,  during  the  summer  of  1918.  Private 
office  maintained. 

LOWRIE,  C.  N.  Camp  Planner,  War  Dept., 
Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.  Plans  for  Camp  Gordon, 
Atlanta,  Ga.,  for  another  cantonment  or  camp 
at  Augusta,  Ga.,  afterwards  abandoned.  Re- 
ports on  camps  and  camp  extensions  at  Camp 
Wadsworth,  Spartansburg,  Va.,  Camp  Sevier. 
Greenville,  N.  C.  Camp  Jackson,  Columbia, 
S.  C,  Camp  Hancock,  Augusta,  Ga.,  Camp 
Wheeler,  Macon.  May  and  June,  1917,  and 
February  and  March,  1918.  Landscape  Archi- 
tect and  Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C. 
Projects  at  New  London  and  Groton,  Conn., 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  now  known  as  Lincoln 
Gardens,  Alton,  111.  Portions  of  1918  and 
1919.     Private   office   maintained. 

MANNING,  W.  H.  Camp  Planner,  War 
Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.  Surveys  and  Plans 
for  Camp  Sherman,  Chillicothe,  Ohio.  Land- 
scape Architect  and  Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D., 
U.  S.  H.  C.  project  at  Lowell.  Office  main- 
tained. 

MISCHE,  E.  T.  Landscape  Architect  and 
Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C,  for  pro- 


jects at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y., 
Indian  Head,  Md.,  (for  these  the  work  was 
that  of  preliminary  investigator),  Bremerton, 
Washington,  and  Vellejo  (Mare  Island),  Cal. 
1917-1919.     Office  maintained. 

NEGUS,  S.  P.  Assisted  Massachusetts  Fuel 
Administration.  Chairman  Sub-Committee  on 
Wood  Fuel  of  the  Wellesley  Committee  on 
Public  Safety.  Served  as  private  in  Wellesley 
Training  Unit  Home  Guard,  January,  1917, 
also  on  Wellesley  Constabulary  from  Novem- 
ber, 1917,  until  June,  1918.  Investigator  Bureau 
of  Investigation  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Justice,  July, 
1918,  until   Armistice.     Office  maintained. 

NICHOLS,  A.  R.  Landscape  Architect  and 
Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C,  for  pro- 
ject at  Portsmouth,  Ohio,  during  the  summer 
of   1918.     Office  maintained. 

NOLEN,  J.  Member  of  Advisory  Housing 
Committee,  Emergency  Fleet  Corp.  Member 
of  Committee  on  War  Time  Housing,  National 
Housing  Association.  Member  of  conference 
group  that  prepared  the  original  draft  of  the 
Standards  Recommended  for  Permanent  In- 
dustrial Housing  Developments.  Town  Plan- 
ner for  Union  Park  Gardens,  Wilmington, 
Del.,  U.  S.  Shipping  Board,  Emergency  Fleet 
Corp.  Town  Planner,  Town  Planning  Divi- 
sion, U.  S.  H.  C.  Projects  at  Niagara  Falls, 
N.  Y.,  Eddystone,  Penn.,  and  Ridley  Park, 
Philadelphia.  Chief  of  Bureau  of  Housing  and 
Community  Planning,  Army  Education  Com- 
mission, American  Expeditionary  Forces,  Dept. 
of  Citizenship.  Work  overseas.  1917-1918- 
1919.     Office  maintained. 

OLMSTED,  F.  L.  With  Committee  on 
Emergency  Construction,  advising  Canton- 
ment Div.  of  Army  in  the  preparation  of  plans 
and  selecting  Town  Planners  and  Engineers 
for  laying  out  Camps  and  for  designing  and 
supervising  their  water  supplies,  sewerage  and 
other  utilities.  Assisting  Mr.  Otto  Eidlitz, 
who  as  a  Committee  of  One  on  Emergency 
Construction  under  the  Council  of  National 
Defense  was  endeavoring  to  get  government 
action  for  relief  of  industrial  housing  short- 
age. Manager  of  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C,  created 
to  deal  with  the  above  problem,  one  of  the 
Directors  of  this  Corporation,  and  continued 
work  for  it  until  June,  1919.  While  private 
office  was  maintained  by  partners,  had  no  con- 
nection with  its  activities. 


The  Olmsted  Medal 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


77 


OUTHET,  R.  A.  Building  Inspector  for 
Dominion  Bridge  Co.,  Munition  Work,  Cana- 
da, contracted  typhoid  fever  on  work,  unfit 
to  "carry  on"  for  another  year.  (1916-1917) 
Landscape  Architect  and  Town  Planner,  Town 
Planning  Div.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Project  at  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  and  Tacomy  near  Philadelphia  and 
in  the  office  of  the  above  mentioned  corpora- 
tion. (1918-1919).  Office  maintained  but  not 
continuously. 

PARKER,  C.  R.  War  Dept.,  Const.  Div.. 
C.  P.  S.  In  charge  of  office  assistants  and 
outside  men,  in  all  matters  excepting  those  of 
general  policies  and  matters  pertaining  to  de- 
sign. December,  1917,  to  July,  1918.  Assist- 
ant to  manager,  and  later  manager  of  T.  P. 
D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Duties  similar  to  those  out- 
lined above  in  connection  with  War  Dept. 
July,  1918,  to  December,  1919.  Private  olKce 
closed. 

PHILLIPS,  T.  G.  District  Town  Planner. 
U.  S.  H.  C.  April,  1918.  to  January,  1919. 
Private  office  closed. 

PRAY,  J.  S.  Camp  Planner,  War  Dept., 
Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.,  projects  at  Camp  Funs- 
ton,  Fort  Riley,  Kansas;  Camp  Johnston, 
Jacksonville,  Florida;  Camp  Upton,  Yaphank, 
N.  Y.  May  30  to  September  18,  1917.  Land- 
scape Architect  and  Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D., 
U.  S.  H.  C.  projects  at  Seven  Pines,  (Fair 
Oaks),  Va.,  and  at  Ernston  (near  Perth  Am- 
boy),  N.  J.     May  30,  1918,  to  January  25,  1919. 

RAMSDELL,  C.  H.  Landscape  Architect 
and  Town  Planner,  and  District  Town  Plan- 
ner, T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Projects  at  South 
Bend,  Ind.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  Lyles,  Tenn. 
August  15  to  December  15,  1918.  Camp  Busi- 
ness Secretary  for  U.  S.  A.,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  Fort 
Snelling,  Minn.  Secretary  attached  to  36th 
Regulars  and  later  attached  to  Base  Hospital, 
No.  29,  Fort  Snelling,  Minn.  November  1, 
1917,  to  August  15,  1918,  and  January  1  to 
March  15,  1919.     Office  closed. 

SCHERMERHORN,  R.,  Jr.  Camp  Plan- 
ner, War  Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.,  at  Camp 
Jackson,  Columbia,  S.  C.  and  advising  in  re- 
gard to   Camp  Wheeler,   Macon,   Ga.,   May  21 


to  October  1,  1917,  Commissioned  Captain  En- 
gineering Sec,  Sanitary  Corps,  U.  S.  A.,  No- 
vember 21,  1917.  Cantonment  Police  Officer 
and  Division  Sanitary  Engineer  at  Camp  Jack- 
son, water  supply,  sewerage  and  waste  dis- 
posal, December  3,  1917,  to  July  5.  1918.  At 
Camp  Dix,  organizing  special  Sanitary  de- 
tachment for  overseas  at  Toul,  France.  Served 
at  Justice  Hospital  until  January  13,  1919, 
duties  similar  to  those  at  Camp  Jackson.  At 
Paris  attached  to  Engineering  Dept.,  of  the 
Commission  to  Negotiate  Peace  under  Brig. 
Gen.  McKinstry,  purpose  to  estimate  war 
damage,  but  did  little.  Discharged  April  12, 
1919. 

SHURTLEFF,  A.  A.  Landscape  Architect 
and  Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  On 
projects  at  Bridgeport,  Conn.,  also  at  Newport, 
R.  I.  and  Stamford,  Conn.  Worked  on  plans 
for  grounds  for  U.  S.  Naval  Hospital  at  Chel- 
sea, for  another  hospital  at  Parker  Hill  (near 
Boston)  and  at  Newport,  R.  I.  1918  and  1919. 
Private  office  maintained. 

STEELE,  F.  ,\merican  Red  Cross  Captain. 
Executive  and  Relief  Work  in  Washington, 
France,  England  and  North  Russia.  October, 
1917,  to  March.  1919.     Office  closed. 

TAYLOR,  A.  D.  Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D., 
U.  S.  H.  C.  Project  at  Muskegon,  Mich.  Part 
time,    1917-1918.     Office   maintained. 

UNDERWOOD,  L.  Landscape  Architect 
and  Town  Planner.  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  for 
their  project  at  Bath,  Maine.  Also  member  of 
the  U.  S.  Fuel  Administration  working  under 
J.  J.  Storrow  on  problems  of  Fuel  Distribu- 
tion for  New  England.  Private  office  main- 
tained. 

VITALE,  F.  Project  Town  Planner,  T.  P. 
D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Projects  at  Watertown,  N. 
Y.,  and  Dayton,  Ohio.  1918.  Part  time. 
Office  maintained. 

WYMAN,  P.  Town  Planner  and  District 
Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Super- 
vising at  the  Washington  office  and  on  the 
ground  several  housing  projects  until  the 
Armistice. 


78 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 

ASSOCIATE  MEMBERS 


Note:   One  of  the  two  persons  who  were  Associate  Members  of  the  Society  during  the  years 
of  1917  and  1918,  reports  as  follows: 


McFARLAND,  J.  H.  Treasurer  Commis- 
sion on  Living  Conditions  of  War  Workers, 
organized  October,  1918,  to  speed-up  produc- 
tion of  war  materials  by  improving  living 
conditions  for  workers.  Commission  attached 
to  the  Dept.  of  Labor  through  the  U.  S.  H.  C. 
but    independent    as    regards    funds.      Investi- 


gated many  cases  of  bad  housing,  advised  in 
regard  to  hospital  facilities  in  Washington  and 
the  so-called  "government  hotels"  opposite  the 
Union  Station,  supporting  the  Corporation 
during  the  Senatorial  Investigation.  (October 
1.5,  1918,  to  June  30,  1919).  Private  business 
maintained. 


[EMBERS 


Note:  Of  the  thirty-six  persons  who  were  Members  of  the  Society,  during  the  years  1917  and 
1918,  thirty-one  reported  war  work  as  follows: 


ALDRICH,  R.  W.  As  principal  assistant 
to  Mr.  Arthur  Shurtleff,  had  charge  of  various 
projects  for  the  U.  S.  H.  C.  at  Bridgeport, 
Conn.,    1918. 

BLAIR,  E.  O.  At  Officers'  Training  Camp, 
Fort  Sheridan,  III.  Then  at  Saumur  Artillery 
School,  Saumur,  France,  and  with  the  French 
Army,  121st  Field  Artillery,  U.  S.  Army,  33nd 
Div.,  at  Alsace,  Chateau-Thierry,  Soissons, 
Argonne.  August  15,  1917,  to  February  13, 
1919.  Commissioned  2nd  Lt.  and  later  1st  Lt. 
Office   maintained. 

CALDWELL,  L.  S.  Assistant  Town  Plan- 
ner for  project  of  the  LI.  S.  H.  C.  at  Bath, 
Maine,  in  association  with  Loring  Underwood. 
Town  Planner,  May,  1918,  to  July,  1919.  Part 
time.     Office  maintained. 

CHAMBERLIN,  N.  Served  at  Plattsburg. 
1st.  Lt.,  A.  S.  A.  Later  Capt.  A.  S.  R.  C. 
Executive  work  in  111..  Ohio  and  Cal.  Served 
also  as  Post  Censor,  Post  Adjutant,  President 
of  Examining  Boards,  and  upon  Courts  Mar- 
tial. August  23,  1917,  to  January  6.  1919.  Pri- 
vate office  closed. 

CLARKE,  G.  D.  Member  "D"  Co..  U.  S. 
Engineers,  France,  December  1,  1917,  to  July 
1,  1918.  Secretary  to  General  of  Staff,  3d  Div. 
(Regular).  July  2,  1918,  to  July  1,  1919.  Took 
part  in  the  Somme  Defensive  March  21  to 
April  6,  1918.  Champaigne-Marne  Defensive 
July  15  to  August  21,  1918.  Aisne-Marne  Of- 
fensive, July  31  to  August  8,  1918.  St.  Mihiel 
Offensive  September  15  to  September  21,  1918. 


Meuse  Offensive  October  6  to  November  1, 
1918.  Army  of  Occupation  in  Germany.  De- 
cember 1,  1918,  to  May  1,  1919.  Commissioned 
1st  Lt.  August  1.  1917.  Capt.  July  15.  1918. 
Citation  from  Commander  in  Chief  of  A.  E.  F. 
for  Meritorious  Service. 

COMEY,  A.  C.  Assisting  Housing  Com- 
mittee, Council  of  National  Defence,  January 
2  to  February  15,  1918.  Assisting  U.  S.  Ship- 
ping Board,  checking  plans,  February  15  to 
April  15,  1918.  Special  Investigator,  Town 
Planner  and  District  Town  Planner.  T.  P.  D., 
U.  S.  H.  C.  May  15,  1918,  to  July  15,  1919. 
Helped  organize  the  work. — member  of  many 
Preliminary  and  Second  Investigation  Teams 
and  as  District  Town  Planner  had  charge  of 
the  progress  of  many  projects  including  sev- 
eral at  Washington.  D.  C.  Private  office 
closed. 

COX,  L.  D.  Supt.  of  Landscape  Construc- 
tion, Union  Park  Gardens,  Wilmington,  Del., 
U.  S.  Shipping  Board.  October,  1918.  to  Janu- 
ary.  1919.      Private  office   maintained. 

DESMOND.  T.  H.  Landscape  Architect. 
Town  Planner  and  District  Town  Planner.  U. 
S.  H.  C.  Also  acted  on  Second  Investigating 
Committee  as  to  needs  of  housing  in  various 
cities,  and  as  to  available  sites  for  such  de- 
velopments. July  24,  1918,  to  December  31, 
1918.     Private  office  closed. 

ELWOOD,  P.  H.,  Jr.  Engaged  in  work  of 
salvaging  and  demolishing  ammunition  dumps 
in    battle    areas    until    March,    1919.      Later    at 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


79 


Verdun  as  Motor  Transport  Officer.  In  com- 
plete charge  of  passenger  transportation. 
Later  in  charge  of  landscape  gardening  and 
engineering  work  at  the  Argonne  Cemetery, 
Romagne,  Lous,  and  Montfacon  until  July  4, 
1919.  Entire  service  dating  from  August  2", 
1917,  to  August  28,  1919.  Attached  to  F.  A. 
Sig.  Corps.,  Aviation  Sec.  Commissioned  Cap- 
tain. 

EVANS,  F.  N.  Taught  surveying  in  Stud- 
ent Army  Training  Corps  at  University  of 
Illinois.     Part  time  only. 

HARE,  S.  H.  Camp  Planner,  War  Dept., 
Const.  Div.,  D.  P.  S.  Plans  and  supervision 
Camp  Funston,  Kan.,  June  to  November,  1917. 
Inspection  trip  to  Camps  and  Cantonments  in 
Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana  and  Arkan- 
sas, planning  Civic  Centres,  Hospital  ex- 
tensions, Fire  Protection,  etc.  Town  Planner 
and  District  Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S. 
H.  C.  In  charge  of  thirteen  different  pro- 
jects, June,  1918,  to  January,  1919.  All  private 
work  given  up  during  that  time. 

JOHNSTON,  D.  B.  Private  and  Master 
Engineer,  Engineers  44th  Regt.,  U.  S.  A.  in 
charge  of  camp  and  road  work  supervising 
German  labor  near  Saumur,  France.  August 
12,  1918,  to  July  20,  1919.  After  Armistice, 
Camp  Landscape  Architect  and  Lecturer  in 
French  History  in  school.  May  IB,  1918,  to 
August  1.  1919. 

KESSLER,  G.  E.  Camp  Planner,  War 
Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.,  for  various  pro- 
jects in  the  middle  west.  1917-1918.  Project 
Town  Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C,  for 
mid-west  projects.  1917-1918.  Part  time  only. 
Office  maintained. 

KRUSE,  A.  M.  Town  Planning  Assistant, 
T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Serving  as  Investigator 
on  various  projects,  and  Town  Planner  on 
projects  at  Milton,  Penn.  1918-1919.  Part 
time.     Office  closed. 

McCRARY,  I.  J.  Camp  Planner,  War 
Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.  Projects  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  Camps  Custer  and  Sher- 
man. April-October,  1918.  Assistant  Town 
Planner,  T.  P.  D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Neville  Island 
project  near  Pittsburg,  Penn.  Plans  for  this 
project  stopped  soon  after  the  Armistice  (Oc- 
tober-November,  1919).     Private  office  closed. 


MOVIUS,  H.  L.  Commissioned  Capt.,  F. 
A.,  Plattsburg  Barracks,  November  27,  1917. 
Assigned  to  349th  F.  A.  December  15,  1917, 
Camp  Dix.  N.  J.  Student  Officers'  School  of 
Fire,    Fort    Sill,    Okla.,    March    16   to    May    23, 

1918.  With  A.  E.  F.  349th  F.  A.  June  15,  1918, 
to  March  3,  1919.  At  Front  Sept.,  1918,  until 
Armistice.  Took  part  in  Offensive  of  Second 
Army,  October,  1918.  August  25,  1917,  to 
March  19,  1919.     Private  office  closed. 

NASON,  G.  L.  1st  Lt.,  Co.  "K,"  29th  En- 
gineers, U.  S.  A.  In  charge  of  all  mapping 
and  printing  for  the  Army  Engineers.  Sep- 
tember, 1918,  to  December,  1918.  Private 
office  closed. 

NICOLET,  T.  W.  War  Dept.,  Const.  Div., 
Q.  M.  C.  Officer  in  charge  .Authorization  Sec- 
tion, November  30,  1917,  to  June  1,  1919.  As- 
sistant   Camp    and    Project    Planner,    June    1, 

1919,  to  January  1,  1920.  ,'\ssociate  Principal 
Engineer  of  the  Engineering  Branch.  January 
1,  1920,  to  June  1,  1920.  Principal  Engineer, 
Engineering  Branch,  June  1,  1920,  to  August 
20,  1920.  Commissioned  Capt.,  Q.  M.  C. 
Office  closed. 

NOYES,  J.  Assistant  Town  Planner,  T.  P. 
D.,  U.  S.  H.  C.  Projects  at  Davenport,  Iowa. 
Moline,  East  Moline  and  Rock  Island,  111.,  for 
three  months,  July,  August,  and  September, 
1918.  Resident  representative  T.  P.  D.,  and 
supervised  grading  and  planting  for  their  pro- 
jects until  June,   1919. 

PHILLIPS,  W.  L.  Draughtsman  and  Camp 
Planner,  War  Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.,  for 
a  time  at  one  of  their  camp  projects  in  Porto 
Rico,  later  in  the  Washington  Headquarters. 
1917-1918. 

PILAT,  C.  F.  Camp  Planner,  War  Dept., 
Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.  for  project  at  Camp 
Lewis,  American  Lake,  Washington;  Camp 
Abraham  Eustis,  Lee  Hall,  Va.,  Camp  Bragg, 
Fayetteville,  N.  C,  June  to  November,  1917, 
April,  1918,  to  February,  1919.  Private  office 
maintained  through  partner. 

POND,  B.  W.  Assistant  to  Officer  in 
Charge  Engineering  Branch,  Const.  Div.,  1917- 
1918.  Assistant  to  Officer  in  Charge  Consoli- 
dation of  Procurement  of  Supplies,  Purchase, 
Storage  and  Traffic  Div.,  General  Staff,  1918. 
Officer  in  Charge  of  Cable  Office,  Div.  of  Pur- 
chase,  Storage   and    Traffic,    1918.      In    charge 


80 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


of  compilation  of  data  for  Congress,  etc.,  1919. 
Commissioned    Capt.,    Q.    M.    C,    September, 

1917.  Major,  Q.  M.  C,  September,  1918.  Pri- 
vate office  closed.     Discharged  July  1,  1919. 

ROBINSON,  F.  A.  With  combat  troops. 
Private  to  Master  Engineer,  in  France,  313th 
Engineers,  88th  Division,  Alsace  Sector.  Meuse- 
Argonne,  graduated  Engineer  Candidate 
School,    Langres,   with   commission   of   2d   Lt., 

1918.  Instructor  City  Planning,  A.  E.  F.  Ar- 
tillery Training  Centre,  Bellevue  (Paris),  April- 
July.  1919.  Office  closed  for  two  years.  Com- 
missioned Capt.  in  O.  R.  C,  Engineer  Section, 
U.  S.  A. 

SMITH,  S.  C.  Capt.,  American  Red  Cross, 
in  charge  of  American  Red  Cross  Headquar- 
ters for  the  Dept.  of  the  Marne.  February, 
1918,  to  February,  1919.     Entire  time. 

SMITH,  F.  A.  C.  2d  Lt.  U.  S.  A.  Air 
Service  and  Personnel  Adjutant,  Carlstrom 
Field,  Arcadia,  Fla.,  also  Personal  Adjutant 
for  Air  Service  School  for  Radio  Operators, 
Austin,  Texas.  December,  1917,  to  January 
20,  1919.     Entire  time. 


WHEELWRIGHT,  R.  Camp  Planner,  C. 
P.  S.,  Const.  Div.,  U.  S.  A.  On  projects  at 
Camp  Dodge,  Des  Moines,  la..  Camp  Merritt, 
Tenafly,  N.  J.  Also  inspector  and  supervisor 
of  portions  of  the  work  at  Camps  Funston, 
Dodge,  Grant  and  Custer.  Later  became  civil 
service  employee  in  the  Washington  office  of 
the  above  mentioned  Division,  and  among 
other  projects,  had  charge  of  the  re-planning 
of  Camp  Mills.  June  13,  1917,  to  December 
31,  1918.     Office  closed. 

WHITING,  E.  C.  Camp  Planner,  War 
Dept.,  Const.  Div.,  C.  P.  S.,  project  at  Camp 
Humphreys  and  various  additions  and  ex- 
tensions for  Camps  Jackson,  Dix,  Meade,  Lee, 
Sherman  and  several  others.  Preliminary 
work  for  the  Town  Planning  Div.,  U.  S.  H. 
C.  The  above  work  part  time  only,  during 
1918;  with  the  Olmsted  office  balance  of  time. 

WILCOX,  R.  H.  Ensign,  U.  S.  N.  Line 
duty  aboard  S.  P.  1175  Patrol,  ten  months. 
1917-1918.  Land  duty  at  Great  Lakes  Naval 
Station  Public  Works  Dept.,  Camp  Designer, 
ten  months,  ending  February  18,  1919.  Office 
maintained  for  a  short  time  after  enlistment. 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF  THE 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


81 


A  Statement  in  Regard  to  the  Establishment  of  a  Fellovv^ship  in 
Landscape  Architecture  at  the  American  Academy  in  Rome 


In  January,  1914,  Mr.  Ferruccio  Vitale.  a 
member  of  the  Society,  met  the  Director  of 
the  American  Academy  in  Rome,  Dr.  Jesse 
Benedict  Carter,  and  discussed  with  him  the 
advisability  of  including  Landscape  Design 
among  the  Fellowships  in  Fine  Arts  at  the 
Academy.  Dr.  Carter  showed  interest  in  and 
sympathy  with  such  a  project,  and  was  good 
enough  to  state  that  he  would  support  the  idea 
with  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Academy. 

Mr.  Vitale  then  called  on  Mr.  William 
Rutherford  Mead,  President  of  the  -'\cadem}- 
and  secured  his  opinion  on  the  same  subject, 
offering,  in  case  he  viewed  the  idea  favorably, 
to  enlist  the  co-operation  of  the  American 
Society  of  Landscape  Architects  in  raising 
the  necessary  funds  to  maintain  a  Fellowship 
and  in  directing  the  competition  and  the  study 
and  research  work  of  Landscape  Architecture 
in  Rome.  Mr.  Mead  assured  Mr.  Vitale  that 
he  would  welcome  the  collaboration  of  Fel- 
lows in  Landscape  Architecture  with  Fellows 
of  the  other  Fine  Arts,  and  asked  him  to  see 
other  Trustees  and  to  present  definite  sug- 
gestions as  soon  as  possible.  Messrs.  S.  B.  P. 
Trowbridge,  C.  Grant  LaFarge,  William  A. 
Boring  and  other  Trustees  w-ith  whom  the  pro- 
ject was  then  discussed  seemed  to  be  heartily 
in  favor. 

Mr.  Vitale,  therefore,  decided  to  bring  the 
matter  officially  to  the  attention  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Landscape  Architects,  asking 
for  their  opinion  and  endorsement.  This  he 
did  at  the  Boston  meeting  in  February,  1914. 
The  proposal  met  with  most  enthusiastic  ap- 
proval on  the  part  of  the  President  of  the 
Society,  Mr.  Manning,  and  all  the  members 
present  at  the  meeting;  and  it  was  decided  that 
the  Society  should  undertake  to  raise  an  en- 
dowment fund  sufficient  |to  maintain  three 
Fellowships  in  Landscape  Architecture  at  the 
American  .A.cademy  in  Rome,  and  that,  in  the 
meantime,  the  annual  stipend  for  one  Fellow 
be  provided  by  annual  contributions  from 
Landscape   Architects  and  their  friends. 

The  members  who  were  present  at  this 
meeting  contributed  then  and  there  very  gen- 


erously and  later  more  and  more  members  sub- 
scribed to  this  temporary  fund  through  the 
solicitations  of  the  Committee,  appointed  for 
the  purpose,  composed  of  Messrs.  Frederick 
L.  Olmsted.  Bryant  Fleming  and  Ferruccio 
Vitale.  until  sufficient  funds  were  in  sight  to 
guarantee  the  first  Fellowship  at  the  Academy. 

From  that  moment  negotiations  with  the 
President,  the  Secretary  and  other  members 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Academy  be- 
came more  and  more  encouraging  until  as- 
surance was  obtained  that  a  Fellowship  would 
be  established.  The  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  was  officially  requested 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Academy  to  submit 
a  program  for  a  competition  to  select  the  first 
Fellow,  and  to  outline  the  relationship  of  the 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects  to 
the  Academy  in  regard  to  the  administration 
of  such  a  Fellowship.  It  is  undoubtedly  due  to 
the  enthusiasm  and  untiring  efforts  of  Fred- 
erick Law  Olmsted  and  Professor  James  S. 
Pray  that  many  difficulties  were  surmounted 
at  that  time  and  that  the  project  was  finally 
crowned  with  complete  success. 

The  first  Fellow,  Mr.  Edward  Lawson,  went 
to  Rome  in  the  fall  of  1915.  Owing  to  the 
unusual  and  unpropitious  conditions  during 
the  long  period  of  the  war,  and  the  subsequent 
financial  depression  the  efforts  of  the  Society 
to  raise  a  permanent  endowment  have  not 
been  successful;  but  it  is  very  gratifying  to 
know  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Acad- 
emy are  now  so  favorably  impressed  with  the 
usefulness  of  the  Fellowship,  and  the  good 
record  made  by  Mr.  Lawson,  and  the  promise 
of  an  equally  fine  record  by  the  second  Fel- 
low, Mr.  Griswold,  that  the  raising  of  a  per- 
manent endowment  fund  of$150,000to  maintain 
three  Fellowships  in  Landscape  Design  at  the 
Academy  has  recently  been  made  part  of  the 
program  for  the  increasing  of  the  general  en- 
dowment of  the  .'\cademy.  So  that  it  is  very 
safe  to  say  that  our  Art  has  obtained  full 
recognition,  and  is  placed  by  the  Academy  on 
a  par  with  her  sisters,  Architecture,  Painting 
and  Sculpture. 


82 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


PRIZE  OF  ROME  IN  LANDSCAPE 
ARCHITECTURE 


1915 


Reprinted  from  "Landscape  Architectur 


In  this  number  of  "Landscape  Archi- 
tecture" are  reproduced  the  complete 
texts  of  the  programs  of  the  Preliminary 
and  Final  Competitions  for  the  Fellow- 
ship in  Landscape  Architecture  at  the 
American  Academy  in  Rome,  and  the 
principal  of  the  drawings  submitted  in 
the  Final  Competition,  together  with  the 
topography  on  which  the  plans  were 
based.  These  and  all  the  other  drawings 
submitted  in  that  competition,  and  the 
drawings  submitted  in  the  Preliminary 
Competition,  have  been  on  exhibition  in 
New  York,  are  now  on  exhibition  at  Har- 
vard University  in  the  School  of  Land- 
scape Architecture,  and  will  later  be  on 
exhibition  at  Cornell  University,  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois,  and  the  University  of 
Michigan.  The  drawings  are  of  interest 
not  only  for  their  initial  schemes,  but  for 
the  exceptionally  thorough  way  in  which 
these  schemes  are  developed  in  plan, 
elevations,  and  perspective ;  in  working" 
drawings  and  reports ;  and  in  calculations 
of  labor  and  materials,  and  estimated 
itemized  costs  from  unit-data  furnished, 
along  with  the  programs  of  the  compe- 
titions, by  the  Committee  on  Education 
of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects.     This   Committee,  consisting 


of  Professor  James  Sturgis  Pray,  chair- 
man ;  Professor  Bryant  Fleming,  Profes- 
sor Aubrey  Tealdi,  Mrs.  Beatrix  Farrand, 
Mr.  Warren  H.  Manning,  and  Mr.  Her- 
bert J.  Kellaway,  has  represented  the 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Archi- 
tects in  all  its  negotiations  with  the 
Academy,  and  has  full  authority  to  de- 
velop the  Course  of  Study  to  be  adopted 
for  the  Fellowship  after  being  approved 
by  the  Trustees  of  the  Academy.  This 
has  been  developed  and  forwarded  to  the 
Academy,  who  now  have  it  under  con- 
sideration. Meanwhile,  Mr.  Law  son, 
the  successful  competitor  this  year,  sailed 
from  New  York,  with  the  new  Fellows  in 
the  other  arts,  on  the  White  Star  steam- 
ship "Cretic,"  September  9,  and  is  pre- 
sumably now  in  residence  at  the  Acad- 
emy, as  the  first  representative  there  of 
the  art  and  profession  of  Landscape 
Architecture.  Although  the  unusual  con- 
ditions created  by  the  war  cannot  at  best 
be  particularly  favorable  for  using  to 
fullest  advantage  the  opportunities  ex- 
pected to  accrue  to  a  Fellow  in  our  sub- 
ject at  the  Academy,  the  Society  and  the 
Academy  nevertheless  hope  for  very  val- 
uable results  from  Mr.  Lawson's  inves- 
tigations and  study. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 

AMERICAN  ACADEMY  IN  ROME 


83 


FELLOWSHIP  IN   LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE 
PRELIMINARY  COMPETITION,   MARCH   25.    1915* 


This  preliminary  competition  is  not  to  ex- 
tend over  a  longer  period  than  fourteen  con- 
secutive hours. 

During  the  period  of  the  competition  no 
competitor  is  to  receive  any  advice  or  assist- 
ance whatsoever  from  other  persons. 

PROBLEM 

The  problem  consists  of  the  design  of  a 
Country  Estate,  on  an  imaginary  area  of 
ground,  shown  on  the  accompanying  topo- 
graphical map.  and  supposed  to  be  situated 
somewhere  in  the  eastern  part  of  New  York 
State,  and  one  hour  and  a  quarter  from  New 
York  City.  This  estate  is  understood  to  be 
one  of  a  considerable  number  of  contiguous 
estates  of  similar  extent  and  general  character 
which  are  being  taken  up  by  New  York  busi- 
ness men  and  developed  chiefly,  as  this  is  to 
be,  for  year-round  residence. 

Mr.  L  N.  Cognito,  the  client  in  this  case, 
is  a  New  York  banker;  and  he,  his  wife,  a 
son  of  twenty-one  at  college,  and  two  daugh- 
ters aged  eighteen  and  sixteen  constitute  the 
family. 

The  estate  is  part  of  an  old  farm,  of  which 
the  marketable  timber  in  the  woodland  was  all 
cut  off  forty  or  fifty  years  ago  except  for  a 
few  old  trees  shown  on  the  topographical  map. 
These  and  the  smaller  trees  that  have  de- 
veloped since  are  in  good  condition  unless 
otherwise  indicated.  The  soil  is  a  light  sandy 
loam  said  to  run  about  a  foot  in  depth  except 
near  the  rock  outcrops  shown.  The  subsoil  is 
sandy    gravel,    well     drained,    except     for    the 


swamp,    which   contains   two    feet   or   more   of 
peaty  soil. 

The  adjoining  area,  separating  Mr.  C's  prop- 
erty from  the  lake  referred  to  in  the  note  on 
the  topographical  map  is  a  reservation  and 
will  not  be  built  on.  but  will  be  kept  open,  so 
that  views  of  the  lake  from  the  property  can 
be  counted  on  in  the  future. 

Mr.  C.  has  paid  $6,000  for  the  land  and  says 
he  will  pay  up  to  $100,000  for  buildings, 
which  are  to  include  house,  stable,  garage,  and 
greenhouse,  and  such  minor  structures  as  the 
working  out  of  the  problem  may  lead  to;  and 
up  to  $50,000  on  the  grounds.  He  expects  to 
employ  a  head-gardener  (in  charge  of  place), 
an  assistant  in  the  greenhouse,  an  outdoor 
boss  (under  head-gardener),  and  four  other 
men  on  the  average  through  the  year,  ex- 
clusive of  all  help  employed  in  house,  stable, 
and   garage. 

It  is  understood  that  Mr.  C.  desires  a  house  of 
brick  or  else  of  wood-frame  with  wire  lath  and 
"plaster. "and  will  not  accept  any  other  material; 
also  that,  in  either  case,  he  desires  the  house 
to  be  "simple  and  unpretentious  in  character." 
The  competitor,  as  the  landscape  architect,  is 
expected  to  make  the  choice  between  these 
two  materials,  and  also  to  suggest  the  style 
and  general  architectural  effect  which  seem  to 
him  most  fitting  for  the  buildings. 

It  is  stipulated  that  the  stable  is  to  have 
stalls  for  at  least  four  horses,  that  the  garage 
is  to  be  large  enough  for  two  automobiles, 
and  that  the  greenhouse  is  to  supply  cut- 
flowers  through  the  winter. 


♦Extract  from  Special   Regulations  Governing  Fellowships  in  Landscape  Architecture: 

Sec.  1.  Candidates  are  required  to  be  (1)  graduates  of  technical  courses  in  Landscape  .'\rchi- 
tecture  in  any  one  of  the  following  institutions:  Harvard  University.  Cornell  University.  Universi- 
ty of  Illinois.  University  of  Michigan.  Massachusetts  .Agricultural  College;  or  (2)  graduates  of  a 
college  or  university  in  high  standing,  who  hold  certificates  of  at  least  two  years'  study  in  such 
a  technical  course;  or  (3)  men  who  are  not  graduates  of  either  such  a  technical  course  or  of  any 
college  or  university  in  good  standing,  but  who  have  had  three  or  more  years'  professional  experi- 
ence in  either  independent  practice  or  in  the  employ  of  a  competent  landscape  architect  or  firm  of 
landscape  architects,  and  are  officially  recommended  by  the  .'\merican  Society  of  Landscape  .Archi- 
tects and  approved  by  the   Executive   Committee  of  the  .Academy. 

Sec.  2.  Competitors  are  required  to  make  a  sketch  for  a  work  of  landscape  architecture,  with- 
in a  period  of  fourteen  consecutive  hours,  upon  a  program  uniform  for  all.  The  cornpetitor  may 
elect  his  own  manner  of  presentation.  He  must  accompany  his  drawings  with  a  brief,  but  ade- 
quate and  clear  statement  of  the  principal  reasons  behind  his  scheme.  He  is  to  preserve  sufficient 
record  of  his  recommendations  for  his  own  possible  subsequent  use. 


84 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


A  vegetable  garden  of  area  sufficient  to  sup- 
ply the  home-table  with  fresh  vegetables  in 
their  season  is  to  be  provided. 

Mr.  C.  himself  is  interested  in  wild  flowers, 
and  desires  to  have  provided  a  secluded  area 
as  natural  in  appearance  as  possible  in  which 
wild  flowers  can  be  grown.  His  wife  wishes 
a  formal  flower-garden  in  which  she  can,  so 
far  as  possible,  have  a  succession  of  bloom 
from  early  spring  until  late  fall,  and  interest- 
ing winter  effects.  The  special  desires  and 
tastes  of  the  other  members  of  the  family  are 
not  specified  and  may  be  assumed. 

The  buildings  are  to  be  shown  in  first-floor 
plan,  and  grade  figures  (approximate  only)  are 
to  be  given  at  significant  points  about  build- 
ings and  informal  garden,  and  along  center- 
lines  of  important  roads.  Water-mains  and 
electric-light  wires  are  to  be  laid  in  the  street 
by  the  community,  but  the  landscape  architect 
in  his  preliminary  report  must  recommend  the 
method  of  sewage  disposal  to  be  employed. 

REQUIREMENTS 

The  competitor  is  required  to  hand  in: 
1.     A  preliminary  sketch-plan  for  the  whole 
area,   drawn   directly   on   black-line   print    sup- 
plied with  this  statement   (the  competitor  will 
be   supplied   with    tracing   paper    for    his    stud- 


ies.); this  sketch-plan  to  be  accompanied  by 
such  other  preliminary  drawings  as  the  com- 
petitor may  deem  it  well  to  submit  to  the  sup- 
posed client  with  a  view  to  making  clearer 
and  more  convincing  the  recommendations 
contained  in  the  plan,  and  in  the  letter  to  the 
client  (see  below).  The  Committee,  in  judg- 
ing this  preliminary  plan  and  accompanying 
drawings,  will  consider  primarily  the  clearness 
of  thought  and  soundness  of  judgment  evinced 
by  the  design,  and  the  appearance  it  would 
have  if  executed:  and  secondarily,  the  effec- 
tiveness (particularly  the  clarity)  of  the  pre- 
sentation. The  method  of  presentation  is  left 
to  the  competitor  to  determine,  provided  only 
that  in  the  case  of  the  plan  the  design  is  to  be 
presented  directly  upon  the  print  of  the  topo- 
graphical map.  He  is  not  to  carry  away  from 
the  preliminary  competition  any  copies  of  the 
topographical  map. 

2.  A  letter  to  the  client  explaining  the  plan 
and  the  reasons  behind  it,  and  in  general  set- 
ting forth  the  competitor's  recommendations 
as  convincingly  as  may  be  in  the  manner  he 
would  do  this  in  professional  practice.  The 
competitor  is  to  retain  some  record  of  his 
recommendations  which,  if  he  shall  later  be 
admitted  to  the  final  competition,  he  will  be 
expected  to  follow  in   the  main. 


AMERICAN  ACADEMY  IN  ROME 

FELLOWSHIP   IN   LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE 
FINAL  COMPETITION,   APRIL  26  TO  JUNE   5,   INCLUSIVE.    1915 


During  this  final  competition,  it  is  under- 
stood that  the  competitors  shall  work  in  pri- 
vate and  without  assistance  other  than  from 
the  use  of  published  texts,  photographs,  plates, 
etc.  They  shall  not  obtain  criticisms  from  in- 
structors, fellow  students  or  others. 

PROBLEM 

The  problem  is  the  one  set  for  the  Prelim- 
inary Competition,  of  the  statement  of  which 
a  copy  is  attached  hereto.  The  area  is  the 
same  (a  new  print  of  the  topography  accom- 
panies this  paper),  and  the  conditions  indicated 
on  the  topographic  map  and  set  forth  in  the 
just  named  statement  of  the  Preliminary  Com- 
petition remain  the  same  in  every  respect  for 
this  Final  Competition.  But  the  program  now 
calls  for  the  most  thorough  possible  develop- 


ment of  this  problem  short  of  its  actual  exe- 
cution, and  thus  demands  complete  working 
drawings,  specifications,  and  detailed  esti- 
mates of  cost. 

REQUIREMENTS 
The  competitor  is  required  to  hand  in: 
1.  A  general  plan  for  the  whole  estate,  at  the 
scale  of  the  topographic  map.  This  is  to  be 
based  on,  and  follow,  the  essential  idea  em- 
bodied in  the  competitor's  preliminary  com- 
petition plan,  and  to  show  all  the  essential  in- 
formation which  that  showed  with  respect  to 
the  designer's  scheme  of  treatment,  and  such 
other  information  as  the  competitor,  if  en- 
gaged on  a  problem  in  practice,  would  show 
in  a  case  where  he  felt  it  particularly  desirable 
to    have    the   general    plan   carried   out   to   the 


\^ 


Second  Award — 1915 
Bremer  W.  Pond 


THE  LIBIHRY 
OF  THE 


sir;\  FORAPRix  \ir  ESiArE 

Honorable  Mention 
Elbert  Peets 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


85 


maximum  degree  of  completeness  reasonable 
for  such  a  general  plan  and  taking  into  ac- 
count what  other  drawings  he  is  going  to  pre- 
sent with  this  plan. 

2.  First-floor  plans  of  all  buildings  at  I 
inch  scale. 

3.  Sufficient  sketch  elevations  to  convey  an 
impression  of  the  general  form  and  style  of 
each  building  as  conceived  by  the  competi- 
tor. 

4.  Complete  construction  drawings  and 
specifications  for  the  formal  garden,  except  for 
possible  statuary  or  carving,  which  can  be  sug- 
gested. 

5.  All  drawings,  specifications,  and  state- 
ments necessary  for  complete  effective  execu- 
tion of  the  informal  garden. 

6.  A  complete  grading  emd  pipe  plan  of  the 
whole  place,  at  the  scale  of  the  topographic 
map,  with  accompanying  profiles  of  all  roads 
(but  not  path),  and  cross-sections  wherever 
desirable  to  insure  proper  modeling  of  the 
ground  surface.  On  this  grading  plan  are  to 
be  indicated  complete  provisions  for  disposal 
of  surface  water  as  well  as  sewage,  and  loca- 
tions of  pipes,  hydrants,  etc.,  for  water- 
supply  for  all  purposes,  including  fire  protec- 
tion. 

7.  Details,  at  I  inch  scale  of  all  drain-inlets, 
catch-basins,  hydrants,  and  such  other  minor 
engineering  structures  as  the  particular  scheme 
calls  for. 

8.  Complete  planting  plcm  or  plans  for 
whole  place,  including  formal  and  informal 
flower-gardens,  and  vegetable-garden;  and 
recommendations  for  preservation,  removal, 
or  supplementing  of  existing  tree  growth. 
This  plan  is  to  be  accompanied  by  complete 
planting  lists. 

9.  At  least  two  perspective  drawings:  one 
showing  the  main  building  or  building-group 
in  relation  to  its  surroundings  (this  may  be  a 
bird's  eye  view),  the  other  a  view  in  the  formal 
garden   showing   the   most   important   feature. 

10.  A  full  careful  report  covering  the  draw- 
ings and  other  material  submitted  by  the 
competitor,  and  supplying  such  explanation  as 
will  be  helpful  to  a  clear  understanding  of  the 
competitor's  scheme  (particularly  the  reasons 
behind  its  various  provisions),  and  including 
a  complete  list  of  the  cost  data  employed  (see 
accompanying  sheets  of  cost-unit  data) 
whether  supplied  by  the  Fellowship  Commit- 
tee or  not,  and  full  text  of  competitor's  cal- 
culations and  estimates.  This  report  is  also 
to  be  used  as  the  opportunity  to  argue  effec- 
tively for  the  solution  offered. 


11,  Complete  calculations  of  quantities  of 
materials  and   estimates  of  cost  of  the  work. 

12.  Any  other  plans,  drawings,  sketches, 
specifications,  reports,  or  estimates,  which  the 
complete  satisfactory  execution  of  the  general 
scheme  may  call  for. 

In  all  cases  the  form  of  presentation — in- 
cluding material,  style  of  rendering,  etc., — is 
left  entirely  to  the  competitor  to  determine. 

COST  DATA 

For  the  purposes  of  this  problem,  it  is  to  be 
assumed: 

1.  That  the  nearest  freight-siding  to  the 
property  is  one-half  mile  distant  from  the 
northeast  corner  of  the  property. 

2.  That,  wherever  a  rock-outcrop  is  shown 
on  the  topographic  map,  the  actual  rock  sur- 
face slopes  outward  and  downward,  in  all  di- 
rections, at  an  angle  of  30  degrees  from  the 
horizontal. 

3.  That  labor  and  materials,  and  construc- 
tions called  for  on  this  particular  job,  will  cost 
according  to  the  following  cost-unit  data  so 
far  as  these  are  found  to  cover,  and,  where 
unit-data  are  not  supplied,  the  competitor  is 
to  make  and  state  his  own  assumptions  of 
them: 

COST  UNITS 

House,  if  of  brick,  per  cu.  ft. $     .25 

House,  if  of  plaster,  per  cu.  ft. .22j 

Gardener's  house,  if  of  brick .20 

Labor,  working  foreman,  per  day 3.50 

Labor,   ordinary  laborer,  per  day 2.50 

Labor,  two-horse  team,  including  driver, 

per   day   6.00 

Topsoil   stripped  and   put   in   place,   per 

cu.  yd.   .50 

Subsoil   stripped  and   put   in   place,   per 

cu.  yd. .50 

Sand  brought   in,   per  cu.  yd 1.00 

Subsoil  brought  in,  per  cu.  yd. .80 

Topsoil  brought  in,  per  cu.  yd. 1.50 

Peat  brought  in,  per  cu.  yd. 1.50 

Rock  cut  in  open  cut   (cellars),  per  cu. 

yd.    3.. '50 

Rock  cut  in  trenches,  per  cu.  yd. 5.00 

Bricks    laid    in    wall    in    cement-mortar, 
including  cost  of  brick,  delivery,  and 

laying,  per  1,000  bricks 25.00 

Telford  road   complete,  including  foun- 
dation and  surfacing,  per  sq.  yd. 1.30 

Upper  4-inch  broken-stone  road,  includ- 
ing surfacing  but  not  foundation,  per 

sq.   yd.    .80 

Good    bitulithic    or    similarly    surfaced 


86 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


road,    complete    with    foundation,    per 

sq.  yd.   1.90 

Gravel  path,  per  sq.  yd. . .50 

Brick  path,  per  sq.  yd.   3.00 

Dry  foundations  (assuming  material 
brought    from   outside    the   property), 

per  cu.  yd.  3.50 

Vitrified  (Akron)  tile  pipe,  laid  in  trench 
with  branches,  but  excluding  cost  of 
excavation  and  refilling: 

For  6-inch  pipe,  per  lin.  ft. .20 

For  8-inch  pipe,  per  lin.  ft. .30 

Galvanized  iron  water-pipe  (lead  lined) 
laid    in    trench,    but    excluding    for    i- 

inch  pipe,  per  lin.  ft.  .20 

Galvanized  iron  water-pipe  (lead  lined) 
laid  in  trench,  but  excluding  cost  of 
excavation  and  refilling: 

For  1-inch  pipe,  per  lin.  ft.  .27 

For  ij-inch  pipe,  per  lin.  ft. .27 

For  2-inch  pipe,  per  lin.  ft. .56 

Cast-iron  water-pipe,  laid  in  trench,  but 
excluding  cost  of  excavation  and  re- 


filling, 4-inch  pipe,  per  lin.  ft. .33i 

Barnyard  manure,  well  rotted,  delivered 

on  ground,  per  cord 10.00 

Manure    and    cultivation    for    turf,    per 

acre    175.00 

Planting,   exclusive   of   cost   of  prepara- 
tion of  ground,  and  exclusive  of  cost 

of  plants  and  their  delivery;  i.  e.,  just 

labor: 

For   herbaceous  plants,   per   plant .02i 

For  shrubs,   per  plant   .07i 

For  small  trees,  per  plant   .12i 

Concrete  work,  according  to  form. 

Catch-basins,  etc.,  according  to  form  and 
size. 

Plants  to  be  purchased  according  to  cata- 
logue prices,  less  such  discounts  as  may  be 
allowed  to  client. 

Other  units  according  to  judgment  of  com- 
petitor after  such  investigation  as  he  may 
wish  to  make. 

No  profit  or  commission  to  be  figured  on 
these  prices,  either  of  labor  or  materials. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITFXTS 


87 


THE  PRIZE  OF  ROME 

1920 
REPORT  OF  THE  JURY  IN  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE 

FREDERICK   LAW  OLMSTED,   Chairman 
JAMES  L.  GREENLEAF  ALBERT  D.  TAYLOR 

CHARLES  N.   LOWRIE  FERRUCCIO  VITALE 

PROGRAM  — PRELIMINARY  COMPETITION 


The  problem  consists  of  the  design  of 
a  public  park  for  a  residential  district  of 
a  large  city  on  a  tract  shown  on  the  ac- 
companying to()ographic  map,  supposed 
to  be  situated  in  the  midst  of  the  district 
to  be  served  by  it. 

The  district  served  is  assumed  to  be 
about  one  square  mile  in  extent,  with  a 
population  of  about  30,000,  including  me- 
chanics, clerks,  salespeople,  managers, 
and  professional  people,  mainly  occupied 
in  establishments  elsewhere  in  the  city; 
not  to  the  exclusion  of  industrial  labor- 
ers but  not  predominantly  an  "industrial 
population"  in  the  sense  in  which  that 
term  is  applied  to  segregated  areas  oc- 
cupied mainly  by  low-paid  factory  em- 
ployees. 

It  is  assumed  that  the  City  has  made 
and  is  making,  through  its  City  Planning 
Agency,  reasonable  provision  for  large 
rural  parks  and  reservations  accessible 
by  rail  transportation,  for  small  decora- 
tive squares,  and  in  connection  with  its 
school  system  for  intensive  play-ground 
activities.  Specifically  it  is  assumed  that 
there  exists  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
park  a  school  playground  equipped  with 
indoor  and  outdoor  gymnasia,  running 
track  and  playground  apparatus,  and  none 
of  these  are  to  be  provided  in  the  park. 

It  is  assumed  also  that  there  exists 
elsewhere,  but  accessible  to  the  district 
served  by  the  park,  sufficient  provision 
for  playing  baseball. 


Otherwise  the  park  is  to  provide  rec- 
reation facilities  for  people  of  all  ages 
and  various  tastes,  and  specifically  for 
the  following: 

1.     A  place  for  outdoor  band  concerts. 

3.  An  outdoor  assembly  place  for 
public  speaking,  movie  shows,  and  small 
pageants  or  other  dramatic  entertain- 
ments. 

3.  Facilities  for  the  circulation  of 
crowds  under  pleasant  and  attractive 
surroundings. 

4.  A  "Community  building"  or  grou]) 
of  buildings,  including  a  general  assem- 
bly room  for  dancing  and  other  entertain- 
ments, smaller  rooms  for  meetings,  etc., 
a  reading  room  and  branch  library,  a 
cafeteria,  general  toilet  rooms  for  men 
and  for  women,  and  space  for  adminis- 
trative purposes.  The  ground  floor  area 
of  the  building  is  to  be  assumed  for  the 
purpose  of  the  preliminary  competition 
at  not  less  than  8,000  nor  more  than  12,- 
000  square  feet  and  its  height  at  not  ex- 
ceeding two  stories  and  a  basement. 

The  architectural  elevation  of  the 
building  or  buildings  is  not  required,  but 
the  architectural  character  for  them  is  to 
be  described  by  the  contestant  in  the 
written  report  which  accompanies  his 
plans. 

5.  Wading  pool. 

6.  A  little  children's  lawn  secluded 
and  enclosed  by  foliage  informally  com- 
posed. 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


7.  A  naturalistic  pond,  with  beaches, 
woodland  and  waterside  planting,  and 
with  paths  commanding,  from  point 
designated  on  the  plan,  selected  views  of 
the  pond ;  the  pond  is  to  be  drawn  down 
and  used  for  skating  in  winter. 

8.  A  large  field  suitable  for  such  uses 


as  are  consistent  with  the  effectiveness 
of  its  appearance  as  the  most  spacious 
landscape  unit  of  the  park. 

9.  A  display  of  flowers  as  elements  of 
a  formal  composition. 

10.  A  display  of  flowers  as  elements  of 
a  naturalistic  composition. 


progra: 


FINAL  COMPETITION 


The  program  now  calls  for  a  carefully 
studied  development  of  this  problem  and 
demands  working  drawings,  specifica- 
tions, and  estimates  of  quantities. 

REQUIREMENTS 

The  competitor  is  required  to  hand  in : 
1.  A  general  plan  for  the  whole  park,  ren- 
dered in  color,  at  the  scale  of  the  topographic 
map.  This  is  to  be  based  on,  and  follow,  the 
essential  ideas  embodied  in  the  competitor's 
preliminary  competition  plan,  but  the  com- 
petitor is  at  liberty  to  make  any  improvement 
in  the  plan  which  does  not  involve  an  aban- 
donment of  those  essential  ideas.  One  ele- 
ment in  the  decision  of  the  final  competition 
will  be  the  competitor's  ability  to  recognize 
and  to  explain  in  his  written  statement  (See 
Section  5  below)  what  the  essential  ideas  em- 
bodied in  his  preliminary  plan  really  were. 

The  final  general  plan  is  to  show:  the  loca- 
tion and  width  of  roads,  paths  and  other  paved 
or  hard-surfaced  areas,  with  figures  of  eleva- 
tions at  all  critical  points  thereon,  and  of  all 
outdoor  steps  with  figures  of  elevation  at  the 
top  and  bottom  of  each;  the  location  and  out- 
line of  each  building  with  a  figure  indicating 
the  ground  floor  elevations;  the  outline  of  all 
masses  of  foliage  which  it  is  proposed  to  re- 
tain or  to  plant,  differentiating  between  those 
masses  which  are  designed  to  be  kept  below 
the  height  of  the  eye,  those  which  are  de- 
signed to  obstruct  the  vision  from  ordinary 
points  of  view,  and  those  under  which  the 
vision  is  designed  ordinarily  to  range  freely 
except  as  obstructed  by  the  trunks;  trees 
shown  individually  upon  the  topographic  map 
which  it  is  proposed  to  remove;  the  outlines 
of  the  bodies  of  water  which  it  is  proposed  to 
retain  or  to  create,  with  figures  of  elevation 
of  the  proposed  water  surface,  distinguishing 
between  existing  shore  lines  which  it  is  pro- 
posed to  retain  without  change  of  elevation  or 


location  and  those  which  are  to  be  newly 
formed;  the  locations  of  lamp  posts  or  other 
means  of  artificial  illumination;  and  the  loca- 
tions of  any  other  features  of  importance  in 
the  general  design. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  preliminary  competi- 
tion, the  interior  arrangement  of  the  building 
or  buildings  is  to  be  shown,  either  on  the  gen- 
eral plan  or  upon  a  supplementary  drawing,  at 
least  to  the  point  of  designating  the  locations 
of  the  assembly  room,  the  reading  room,  the 
cafiFeteria,   the  toilets,   and   the   stairs. 

2.  At  least  two  perspective  drawings:  one 
showing  the  main  building  or  building-group 
in  relation  to  its  surroundings  (this  may  be 
a  bird's-eye  view),  and  the  other  designed  to 
illustrate  what  the  competitor  regards  as  the 
most  important  composition  in  the  design  of 
the  park. 

3.  A  general  grading  plan,  to  be  drawn  in 
ink  on  tracing  cloth,  at  the  scale  of  the  topo- 
graphpic  map  showing: 

(a)  the  limits  of  all  areas  within  which  it  is 
proposed  to  raise  the  existing  surface  by  fill- 
ing, and 

(b)  the  limits  of  all  areas  within  which  it 
is  proposed  to  lower  the  existing  surface  by 
excavation,  with  an  indication  of  the  depth 
and  form  of  the  filling  and  of  the  excavation 
by  means  of  the  existing  and  proposed  con- 
tours. 

In  addition,  this  plan  is  to  show  the  pro- 
posed locations  of  drain  inlets,  but  no  other 
information  is  required.  It  is  not  intended  to 
be  a  complete  construction  plan  for  the  en- 
tire area  of  the  park  (see  Section  4  below). 
This  general  grading  plan  is  to  be  accom- 
panied by  an  estimate  of  the  quantities  of  cut 
and  fill  in  cubic  yards,  with  the  original  cal- 
culation sheets  showing  the  processes  by 
which  the  estimate  was  derived. 

4.  Complete  construction  drawings  and 
specifications,  planting  plans,  planting  lists  and 
planting  specifications: 


THE  USR^W 
OF  THF. 


THE  LIBRARY 
Of  THE 


"*  *^ 


rM- 


UN   F/  ^K^.^'W^ 


('<■ 


/>7       ^--'  •>    ) 


OF  m 


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THE  LIBRRRY 
OF  THE 


Second  Award — 1920 
Stanley  White 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


89 


(a)  for  a  limited  portion  of  the  park  which 
the  competitor  regards  as  best  exemplifying 
his  ability  in  the  more  naturalistic  aspects  of 
landscape  design,  including  naturalistic  shap- 
ing of  the  ground  surface  and  informal  com- 
positions of  foliage  masses  and  flowering 
plants. 

(b)  for  a  limited  portion  of  the  park  which 
the  competitor  regards  as  best  exemplifying 
his  ability  in  the  more  formal  aspects  of  land- 
scape design.  The  drawings  required  by  this 
sub-section  (4b)  are  not  to  include  construc- 
tion plans  for  buildings  but  are  to  include 
complete  plans  for  structures  of  an  archi- 
tectural character  other  than  buildings,  with 
important  details  at  a  scale  of  not  less  than 
3  inch  to  the  foot. 

These  drawings,  lists  and  specifications  are 
to  be  as  complete  and  as  detailed  in  respect 
to  everything  within  the  area  which  they  cover 
as  would  be  required  to  ensure  the  satisfac- 
tory realization  of  the  design  in  practice  by  a 
contractor  or  contractors  without  supplemen- 
tary oral  instructions.  They  are  to  be  accom- 
panied by  a  detailed  estimate  of  the  unit  quan- 
tities of  every  item  necessary  to  the  final  re- 
sult desired,  but  assignment  of  unit  costs  is 
not  required. 

5.  A  careful  written  statement  enumerating 
the  drawings  and  other  material  submitted  by 
the  competitor  and  supplying  such  explana- 
tion as  will  help  the  jury  to  a  clear  understand- 
ing and  appreciation  of  his  design  and  par- 
ticularly of  the  reasons  for  the  various  de- 
cisions in^■olved  in  it. 

In  all  cases,  except  for  the  limitations 
above  noted  under  Sections  1  and  3,  the 


form  of  presentation — includinfj  material, 
style  of  rendering,  etc. — is  left  entirely  to 
the  competitor  to  determine.  \\'ei5Tht 
will  be  given  to  the  quality  of  his  draw- 
ings as  evidence  of  his  ability  to  express 
his  ideas  through  that  medium  precisely, 
agreeably  and  without  waste  of  effort, 
and  to  the  quality  of  his  written  state- 
ment as  evidence  of  his  ability  to  write 
clear,  terse  and  effective  English. 

Local  Conditions  governing  the  solution  of 
tlie  problem: 

The  competitor  is  to  assume  as  the  location 
for  the  problem  some  part  of  the  Continental 
United  States  with  the  climate  of  which  he  is 
familiar,  and  is  to  specify  the  climate  at  least 
as  definitely  as  by  naming  the  State  in  which 
he  assumes  the  location  to  be.  It  will  be  as- 
sumed that  his  specification  of  the  locality 
does  not  carry  with  it  the  assumption  of  any 
peculiar  local  conditions  controlling  the  design 
other  than  general  climatic  conditions,  and 
other  than  those  set  forth  in  the  statement  of 
the   problem  and  on  the   topographical   map. 

As  to  soil,  the  site  is  assumed  to  have  a 
deep  sandy  loam  of  good  fertility  with  out- 
crops of  gneiss  or  hard  sandstone  at  the  points 
indicated  on  the  topographical  map.  The  rock 
is  assumed  to  slope  outward  and  downward 
at  an  angle  of  30  degrees  from  the  vertical. 

The  Award:  Ralph  E.  Griswold  (1). 
Stanley  White  (2). 
Fabian      McKeon     Smith 

(3). 


90 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


NATHAN  FRANKLIN  BARRETT 


A  MINUTE  ON  HIS  LIFE  AND  SERVICE 


Nathan  Franklin  Barrett  was  born  in 
Staten  Island,  N.  Y.,  November  19,  1845, 
and  died  in  Pelham,  N.  Y..  October  17, 
1919.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was 
the  oldest  living  landscape  architect,  and 
had  practiced  his  profession  for  fifty 
years.  His  father  was  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  firm  of  Barrett  Nephews,  the 
large  and  well-known  dyeing  establish- 
ment of  Staten  Island.  The  son  never 
chose  to  follow  the  trade  and  in  his  early 
youth,  the  romance  of  the  sea  attracting 
him,  he  led  a  sea-faring  life  for  several 
years.  Finally  returning  home,  he  went 
to  war  and  served  three  years  with  the 
Union  armies,  being  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  where  he  served 
under  Sheridan.  In  1866  he  took  up  the 
serious  study  of  landscape  architecture, 
which  he  chose  for  a  life  profession, 
spending  a  period  of  practical  apprentice- 
ship in  his  brother's  nursery,  at  the  same 
time  familiarizing  himself  with  all  exist- 
ing literature  on  the  subject  and  visiting 
all  constructed  works,  worthy  of  atten- 
tion, within  reach.  In  those  days,  there 
was  little  in  the  way  of  precedent  for  an 
American  landscape  architect  to  follow, 
beyond  the  comparatively  few  country 
places  executed  by  Andrew  Jackson 
Downing,  and  the  writings  of  the  latter, 
with  those  also,  perhaps,  of  Donald  G. 
Mitchell,  whose  interest  in  the  subject 
was  pronounced.  It  is  also  possible  that 
the  development  of  Central  Park  in  New 
York,  which  was  then  being  undertaken 
by  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  and  Downing 
Vaux,  had  some  influence  in  his  choice 
of  career,  and  that  this  was  also  a  sub- 
ject of  his  particular  interest. 


In  1869  he  executed  his  first  commis- 
sion and  some  of  his  earliest  work  of  im- 
portance was  for  the  Central  Railroad  of 
New  Jersey,  in  connection  with  which  he 
laid  out  a  number  of  station  grounds,  in- 
cluding those  at  Roselle,  Cranford,  Fan- 
wood,  Netherwood  and  Plainfield. 

His  works  were  nation  wide  and  ex- 
tended from  Maine  and  Florida  on  the 
east  coast  to  California  on  the  west. 
Perhaps  his  individuality  was  best  ex- 
pressed in  the  country  estates  he  treated, 
but  he  was  identified  with  the  laying  out 
of  many  towns  and  suburban  residence 
districts.  His  most  important  work  of 
this  class  was  the  town  of  Pullman,  111. 
(now  a  part  of  Chicago),  which  he 
planned  in  1872  ;  and  George  R.  Pullman 
was  not  only  his  enthusiastic  client  but 
one  of  his  warmest  personal  friends. 
Other  towns  which  he  planned,  or  the 
planning  of  which  he  was  closely  con- 
cerned with,  were  those  of  Birmingham, 
Ala.,  Fort  Worth,  Tex.,  and  Chevy 
Chase,  Md. 

In  1895  he  was  appointed  landscape 
architect  of  the  Essex  County  Park  Com- 
mission, associated  with  John  Bogart, 
civil  engineer.  He  served  this  commis- 
sion for  several  years.  Branch  Brook 
Park  in  the  Oranges  bears  the  particular 
stamp  of  his  treatment,  and  the  selection 
of  park  lands  and  the  layout  of  connect- 
ing boulevards  constituted  some  of  his 
important  duties.  He  served  as  a  com- 
missioner of  the  Palisades  Inter-State 
Park  from  1900  to  1915,  in  the  latter  year 
being  appointed  landscape  architect  of 
the  commission.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  National  Arts  Club  from  the  begin- 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


91 


ning  of  its  existence.  In  1903  he  was 
elected  President  of  the  American  So- 
ciety of  Landscape  Architects,  having 
been  one  of  the  original  group  associat- 
ing to  form  the  latter  society,  indeed 
having  been  one  of  the  prime  powers  to- 
ward  its  formation. 

His  home  in  New  Rochellc.  which  he 
built  in  1890  and  occupied  until  a  few- 
years  ago,  he  designed  with  a  view  of 
illustrating  what  a  landscape  architect 
could  do  with  a  half-acre  jilot.  Rather 
than  adhere  to  a  general  fixed  scheme 
and  a  conventional  design,  with  sym- 
metrical balancing  of  parts,  he  preferred 
to  develop  within  this  area  individual 
features  of  landscape  design.  His  gar- 
den, therefore,  was  actually  divided  into 
irregular  sections,  and  here  he  instituted 
a  variety  of  garden  types :  the  old  fash- 
ioned Colonial  garden,  the  Japanese. 
Roman,  and  Moorish  gardens,  and  Eng- 
lish topiary  work.  By  the  use  of  his  cel- 
lar, which  was  opened  to  the  garden  level 
and  through  which  a  long  vista  con- 
tinued, he  devised  what  he  was  pleased 
to  describe  as  a  Normandy  peasant's 
sitting  room,  a  German  peasant's  kitchen, 
a  Pompeian  Court  and  other  details  of 
interest.  A  little  brook  at  the  rear  of 
the  property  materially  added  in  the  for- 
mation of  picturesque  effects,  and  the 
garden  was  replete  with  i)leasant  little 
nooks  and  surprises  at  every  turn. 

Mr.  Barrett's  work  was  always  of  strik- 
ing originality  and  his  imaginative  pow- 
ers were  without  bounds.  He  despised 
the  conventional  and  was  never  content 
to  be  bound  by  precedents.  Describing 
one  of  his  works,  a  newspaper  account 
quotes  his  words  as  follows; 

"111  every  instance  the  effect  produced 
is  suggestive  and  the  critic  must  grasp 
what  lies  beyond.  The  charm  of  this  de- 
sign lies  in  its  variety,  its  lack  of  conven- 
tionality, the  absence  of  mass  in  color, 
the  absence  of  shrub  borders  and  little 
patches  of  green  grass,  so  often  called 
lawns.     The  poppy  and  the  ground  ivy. 


and  creeping  Charlie  and  myrtle  mingle 
together ;  the  aster  and  goldenrod  feel  at 
home;  ferns  and  mosses  are  used  liberal- 
ly, and  while  ahandun  is  aimed  at.  there 
is  'method  in  the  madness,'  and  the  wild 
garden  and  the  formal  play  their  part, 
each  enhancing  the  charm  of  the  other." 
Referring  to  his  comment  on  "mass  in 
color,"  an  expression  of  his  is  recollected 
in  which  he  contrasts  the  virtues  of 
"color  s])ots"  and  "color  masses."  "Com- 
pare one  beautiful  diamond,  against  a  bit 
of  black  velvet,  with  a  diamond  necklace 
boldly  displayed, — which  is  the  more 
satisfving  to  the  eye?"  Continuing  he 
would  say,  when  the  formal  and  the  in- 
formal were  being  discussed :  "The  form- 
al garden  is  a  gem,  therefore  should  be 
an  attachment,  a  pendant,  to  the  house: 
— away  from  the  house,  an  area  you  enter 
and  pass  through,  but  never  a  part  of  the 
general  scene."  He  had  an  apt  manner 
of  expression  and  could  illustrate  the 
point  of  his  argument  most  successfully 
through  quaint  anecdote  or  apt  simile. 
Garden  ])ictures  in  magazines  he  would  not 
consider  as  wholly  faithful.  "Take  a  grill 
gate,"  he  would  say,  "A  couple  of  posts 
and  some  trees,  and  perhaps  you  would 
have  something  for  a  good  photograph, 
but  such  is  a  representation  of  only  a 
meagre  detail  of  the  real  art  of  the  land- 
scape architect."  Mr.  Barrett's  view  of 
landscape  was  always  that  which  com- 
prehended the  artistic  possibilities  first. 
If  at  some  time  this  would  occasion  a  de- 
parture from  the  natural  or  straightfor- 
ward method  of  development,  and  his 
client  mij;ht  experience  certain  prelimi- 
ary  qualms,  he  could  at  least  be  always 
assured  that  the  ultimate  production 
would  be  something  unique  and  interest- 
ing, and  decidedly  worth  while.  Mr. 
Barrett's  mind  would  at  once  compre- 
hend possibilities  far  beyond  the  powers 
of  the  average  lay  mind  ;  indeed,  he  pos- 
sessed this  qualification  to  a  greater  de- 
gree, in  the  writer's  opinion,  than  any  of 
his  contemjjoraries  in  the  landscape  art. 


92 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


While  his  tendency  was  principally  to- 
ward the  formal,  and  many  of  his  gar- 
dens were  designed  for  individual  strik- 
ing features  of  perhaps  varied  types,  yet 
these  were  always  properly  harmonized 
and  the  general  scene  would  not  suffer. 
He  claimed  to  be  the  earliest  exponent  of 
the  formal  garden  in  America,  the  Ponce- 
de-Leon  Hotel  in  Florida  and  the  estate 
of  R.  G.  Dunn  at  Narragansett  Pier  con- 
taining his  first  efforts  along  these  lines. 
Up  to  this  time  landscape  architects  had 
followed  the  vogue  of  Olmsted  and 
Downing  of  this  country,  who  in  turn 
had  been  influenced  by  the  teachings  of 
Humphrey  Repton,  the  famous  English 
landscape  architect  of  the  18th  century. 
Apart  from  early  Colonial  gardens,  the 
formal  garden  in  America  put  in  its  first 
appearance  in  the  early  nineties.  How- 
ever, Mr.  Barrett  did  not  allow  the  form- 
al class  of  treatment  to  influence  him 
wholly  and  he  used  to  advantage  much 
of  the  informal  type  of  landscape  (which 
he  would  term  "Reptonian"),  and  his 
work  shows  many  excellent  examples  of 
this  style. 

Among    the    most    prominent    country 
places  he  designed,  the  following  may  be 
mentioned :    P.   A.    B.    Widener,   Ogontz, 
Pa.;  H.  O.  Havemeyer,   Islip,  L.  I.;  Jo- 
seph   H.    Choate,    Stockbridge,    Mass. 
Martin    Maloney,    Spring    Lake,    N.    J. 
Stanley  Mortimer,  Wheatley  Hills,  L.  I. 
H.  D.  Auchincloss,  Newport,  R.  I.;  Nor 


man  B.  Ream,  Thompson,  Conn. ;  W.  F. 
Havemeyer,  Seabright,  N.  J.;  F.  D.  Ad- 
ams, Seabright,  N.  J. ;  C.  B.  Alexander, 
Tuxedo,  N.  Y. ;  and  Elliot  F.  Shepard, 
Scarborough,  N.  Y. 

Personally  Mr.  Barrett  was  a  most 
agreeable  and  lovable  character.  One  of 
his  chief  delights  was  to  sit  over  his  pipe 
in  long  converse  with  a  fellow  practition- 
er, discoursing  on  the  theories  of  land- 
scape design,  and  relating  the  many  in- 
teresting incidents  of  his  career.  His 
clients  invariably  became  his  friends  and 
he  was  always  a  welcome  guest  at  their 
homes.  By  nature  truly  an  artist  in  all  that 
the  word  means,  his  mind  was  free  from 
sordidness  of  any  kind,  and  his  "art"  was 
to  him  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world. 
An  offense  to  his  "art"  was  an  offense 
against  him  personally,  and  no  landscape 
architect  ever  set  his  profession  upon  a 
higher  pedestal.  Like  most  real  artists, 
he  was  not  a  good  business  man  and  this, 
combined  with  an  affliction  of  the  throat, 
helped  to  curtail  the  activity  of  his  prac- 
tice and  many  of  his  personal  comforts 
during  the  last  decade  of  his  life.  With 
Mr.  Barrett  passes  one  of  the  most  pic- 
turesque personalities  in  the  profession 
of  the  landscape  architect,  and  one  of  its 
most  steadfast  promoters.  In  these  days 
where  press  of  commercialism  grows 
stronger  as  time  passes,  and  old  ideals  be- 
come increasingly  difficult  to  follow,  Mr. 
Barrett's  figure  is  one  that  will  be 
missed. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITFXTS 


93 


CHARLES  MULFORD  ROBINSON 

ASSOCIATE   MEMBER 
A  MINUTE  ON  HIS  LIFE  AND  SERVICE 


Charles  Mulford  Robinson,  of  Roches- 
ter, N.  Y.,  pioneer  and  widely  known  ad- 
visor in  city  planning,  author,  and  Pro- 
fessor of  Civic  Design  in  the  University 
of  Illinois,  died  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  on  De- 
cember 30,  1917,  in  his  forty-ninth  year. 

He  was  born  at  Ramapo,  Rockland 
County,  N.  Y.,  on  April  30,  1869,  the  son 
of  Arthur  and  Jane  Howell  (Porter) 
Robinson,  who  shortly  after  his  birth 
moved  to  Rochester,  N.  Y.  There  he  re- 
ceived his  schooling,  and,  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Rochester,  in  1891,  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts. 

From  college,  he  entered  journalism, 
and,  from  1891  until  1902,  was  an  editor 
of  The  Post-Express  (Rochester)  ;  in  1904, 
of  The  Philadelphia  Ledger  and,  in  1907, 
of  The  Municipal  Journal  (New  York  City)  ; 
while,  for  some  years,  he  was  a  regular 
contributing  editor  of  The  Survey,  The  Ar- 
chiteclural  Record  and  The  Boston  Transcript; 
and,  at  his  death,  had  long  been  known 
as  a  prolific,  and  always  level-headed  and 
interesting,  contributor  to  newspapers 
and  periodicals,  particularly  on  subjects 
of  civil  interest.  (For  a  record  of  the 
more  important  of  his  publications,  .see 
the  accompanying  bibliogra])hy.  )**  In 
1899,  a  series  of  three  articles  which  he 
contributed  to  The  Atlantic  Monthly  on 
the  subject  of  municipal  improvement  in 
the  United  States  attracted  unusual  at- 
tention— for  the  great  present  interest  in 
the  bettering  of  the  conditions  of  city  life 
through    more    rational    planning   of    the 


city  itself  was  then  hardly  more  than  be- 
ginning, and  he  was  an  earnest  pioneer 
in  the  field.  Shortly  after  their  appear- 
ance, he  was  invited  by  Harper's  Magazine 
to  go  abroad  and  prepare  a  similar  series 
on  municipal  development  in  Europe ; 
and,  having,  through  this  trip,  accumu- 
lated much  more  material  than  could  pos- 
sibly find  place  in  these  articles,  he  was 
moved  in  1901  to  the  writing  of  his  first 
book  in  his  chosen  field — the  field  of  city 
planning,  especially  jilanning  for  increase 
of  civic  beauty.  Despite  the  impressive, 
e\'en  though  abbreviated,  list  of  organi- 
zations which  in  the  "Foreword"  of  this 
little  book  he  refers  to  as  having  "done 
some  definite  thing  to  improve  a  com- 
munity's appearance,"  city  planning  was 
still  so  new  as  a  subject  of  public  interest 
that,  journalist  though  he  was,  he  was 
unable  to  find  a  publisher  willing  to  take 
the  financial  risk  of  publication. 

"Compelled  at  last  to  bring  out  the 
book,  prosaically  named,  'The  Improve- 
ment of  Towns  and  Cities,'  at  his  own 
cx|>ense,  he  had  the  gratification  of  seeing 
it  jump  at  once  into  favor  and  success. 
In  a  few  months  it  had  to  be  reprinted  ; 
in  less  than  a  year  it  was  rejjrinted 
again,  and  now  reprint  follows  reprint, 
and  edition  follows  edition.  .  .  .  Abroad, 
The  Westminster  Gazette  hailed  Mr.  Robin- 
son as  a  leader  of  a  new  school  of  proj)h- 
ets." 

Such,  according  to  a  subsequent  re- 
view* of  Robinson's  career,  was  the  en- 
thusiastic reception  of  this  early  work. 
But  this  little  book  was  much  more  than 


•Translated  into  Spanish  for  the  lieviala  Municipal,   Havana,  March,   1908. 
**Oniitted  for  lack  of  space. 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


a  "best  seller"  for  the  moment.  Reread 
now,  after  the  lapse  of  almost  a  genera- 
tion and  when  the  literature  of  civic  im- 
provement has  already  swelled  to  little- 
dreamed-of  proportions,  it  is  still  impres- 
sive as  a  simple,  earnest,  straightforward 
statement  of  the  farreaching  value,  and 
some  of  the  many  possible  ways,  of 
creating  more  beautiful  civic  environ- 
ments. Though  Robinson's  later  works 
have  still  further  emphasized  the  value 
of  civic  beauty  and  the  importance  of 
planning  for  this,  it  may  well  be  ques- 
tioned whether  any  of  them,  though  in- 
formed by  his  greatly  enlarged  experi- 
ence in  dealing  with  actual  civic  prob- 
lems and  by  his  riper  powers  of  thought, 
have  actually  made  a  greater  contribu- 
tion to  the  betterment  of  cities  than  this 
first  book. 

From  this  point,  his  career  is  so  crowd- 
ed with  constructive  endeavor,  and  he  ac- 
complishes so  many  definite  things  for 
public  advantage,  and  receives  so  many 
marked  evidences  of  successful  achieve- 
ment, that  any  full  account  of  his  work 
and  its  results  becomes  quite  impossible. 
The  article  already  quoted  gives  the  im-  , 
portant  facts  of  his  career  which  now 
rapidly  succeed  one  another.  Though  its 
statements  are  quoted  primarily  to 
sketch  a  part  of  the  comparatively  short 
career  of  one  man  and  are  personal  to 
him,  since  similar  experiences  were  be- 
ing had  more  and  more  by  others,  they 
indicate  as  clearly  the  general  awaken- 
ing of  American  public  sentiment  with 
respect  to  civic  improvement  as  they  do 
the  ,way  in  which,  and  the  extent  to 
which,  he  was,  from  now  on,  a  most  im- 
portant figure  and  always  a  great  en- 
ergizing influence  in  this  movement, — 
the  movement  for  which  the  writings 
and  practice  of  men  like  the  Olmsteds, 
Eliot,  and  others  had  been  preparing  the 
way. 

"Mr.  Robinson  was  now  giving  all  his 
time  to  his   subject,  and,  taking  up   the 


preparation  of  his  second  book,  he  re- 
moved for  some  months  to  Boston  to  be 
in  touch  with  its  ampler  facilities  for  a 
study  of  municipal  aesthetics.  In  Boston 
also  he  served  as  acting  secretary  of  the 
American  Park  and  Outdoor  Art  Asso- 
ciation, then  the  leading  national  organi- 
zation devoted  to  the  subject  in  which  he 
was  interested,  its  membership  made  up 
of  landscape  architects,  park  superintend- 
ents, park  commissioners,  and  a  few  pub- 
lic-spirited citizens.  As  his  work  neared 
completion,  Mr.  Robinson  returned  to 
Rochester.  He  had  now  been  elected 
regular  secretary  of  the  Association,  of 
which  the  membership  was  rapidly  grow- 
ing, and  had  made  the  personal  acquaint- 
ance of  most  of  the  men  professionally 
active  in  municipal  improvements.  In 
Mav,  1903,  the  new  book,  'Modern  Civic 
Art,'  came  out. 

"Various  local  improvement  societies 
of  the  Middle  West  had  federated  them- 
selves in  an  organization  of  which  the 
headquarters  were  in  Springfield,  Ohio ; 
and  Mr.  Robinson  and  others  felt  that 
the  general  movement  would  be  furthered 
if  the  American  Park  and  Outdoor  Art 
Association — largely  representative  of  pro- 
fessional knowledge — and  this  other  or- 
ganization largely  composed  of  those 
who  wanted  to  better  Ipcal  conditions  and 
were  seeking  how  to  do  it — could  be 
brought  together.  At  a  joint  convention, 
held  in  St.  Louis  in  1904,  this  union  was 
accomplished,  and  there  was  formed  the 
American  Civic  Association.  For  a  few  - 
months,  until  the  organization  could  be 
put  on  its  feet,  Mr.  Robinson  consented 
to  accept  the  temporary  secretaryship. 
He  then  resigned  to  enter  the  profession- 
al field  that  had  now  opened  to  him. 

"The  first  commission  which  he  re- 
ceived to  apply  to  a  concrete  case  his  ab- 
stract theories,  had  come  to  him  from 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  where  the  Society  for 
Beautifying  Buffalo  had  lately  been 
formed.     His  report  on  the  opportunities 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


95 


for  improving  the  city  was  read  at  a  pub- 
lic meeting,  was  published,  .  .  and 
aroused  great  interest.  The  Board  of 
Commerce  of  Detroit  then  invited  him  to 
visit  that  city  and  make  a  similar  report ; 
and  this  report  and  one  by  F.  L.  Olmsted 
were  published  together  in  pamphlet 
form  by  the  Board.  Their  recommenda- 
tions are  still  the  basis  of  improvement 
work  in  Detroit,  and  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  one  of  the  men  most  active  in 
securing  Mr.  Robinson's  visit — Hon. 
James  E.  Scripps — dying  shortly  after- 
ward, left  $50,000  for  the  improvement  of 
the  city.  Colorado  Springs  next  sent  for 
Mr.  Robinson  to  make  suggestions  for 
the  treatment  of  its  very  wide  streets. 
There  he  was  engaged  by  the  coopera- 
tion of  an  improvement  society  and  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  His  report  .  .  . 
was  published  .  .  .  and  its  recommenda- 
tions were  enacted  into  ordinances. 

"A  park  commission  of  Columbus, 
Ohio,  recenth'  appointed  but  granted  no 
funds,  obtained  by  personal  subscription 
a  sum  sufficient  to  secure  a  little  visit 
from  Mr.  Robinson,  that  he  might  tell 
the  city  what  its  opportunities  were.  He 
did  this  with  such  effect  in  a  written  re- 
port .  .  .  that  the  people  demanded  a 
careful  and  thorough  study  of  the  situa- 
tion by  an  expert  commission,  and  the 
City  Council  appropriated  several  thous- 
and dollars  for  that  purpose.  A  commis- 
sion of  five,  including  Mr.  Robinson,  was 
appointed  ...  In  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  a 
newspaper — The  Herald — desired  to  rouse 
the  people  to  a  realization  of  the  need  of 
a  park  commission,  and  asked  Mr.  Rob- 
inson to  write  a  series  of  ten  articles  on 
the  opportunities  of  the  city.  In  three 
months  the  bill  was  in  the  legislature, 
backed  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
and  other  organizations.  The  commis- 
sion was  then  appointed,  and  a  good  park 
system  is  now  being  planned. 

"Denver,  which  had  watched  Mr.  Rob- 
inson's work  in  Colorado  Springs,  called 


next  for  him.  He  was  engaged  by  the 
city ;  and  one  feature  of  his  report — a 
civic  center,  of  which  the  state  capitol 
should  be  the  crown,  involving  the  ex- 
penditure of  a  great  sum  of  money — 
created  a  sensation.  For  weeks  the  news- 
papers were  filled  with  discussion  of  it 
and  letters  about  it.  Then  the  real  estate 
board  arranged  a  dinner  at  which  it 
should  be  discussed.  The  dinner  was  not 
an  invitation  aflFair,  nor  free.  Those  who 
came  had  to  pay  for  their  plates :  but  the 
largest  available  room,  the  banquet  hall 
of  the  Brown  Palace  Hotel,  was  engaged. 
There  were  seats  for  400,  and  800  applied 
for  them.  The  mayor  presented  a  plan 
for  financing  the  project  by  creating 
graduated  zones  of  benefit,  in  which  the 
propertj'  owners  would  be  assessed  to 
pay  the  interest  and  sinking  fund  charges 
on  improvement  bonds  to  run  fifty  years. 
To  issue  the  long  term  bonds  a 
charter  amendment  was  necessary,  and, 
in  the  several  months  before  that  could 
he  submitted  to  popular  vote,  questions 
of  the  municipal  ownership  of  public 
utilities  had  been  injected  into  the  cam- 
paign. These  befogged  the  bond-issue 
matter,  and  by  a  slender  majority  the  lat- 
ter was  defeated.  The  vote  was  locally 
considered  so  indecisive,  however,  and  so 
lacking  in  significance  as  to  the  civic 
center  project  that  the  administration  re- 
solved to  carry  out  by  other  means  a 
slight  modification  of  the  plan.  Little 
by  little  the  necessary  property  is  being 
acquired.  Most  of  Mr.  Robinson's  other 
recommendations  for  Denver  have  now 
been  executed. 

"From  Denver,  Mr.  Robinson  went  to 
Honolulu,  where  the  reading  of  his  books 
had  awakened  civic  aspirations  and  cre- 
ated a  demand  for  his  personal  advice, 
such  that  the  local  government  made  an 
appropriation  to  obtain  a  report  from 
him.  .  .  .  The  newspapers  in  editorial 
comment  on  the  completed  report  re- 
ferred to  it  as  'a  marvelous  revelation  of 


96 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


local  possibilities'     .  and  as  com- 

manding 'substantially  the  unanimous  ap- 
pro\'al  of  our  best  qualified  citizens.'  But 
perhaps  a  more  striking  evidence  of  the 
satisfaction  which  it  gave  is  in  the  fact 
that  on  the  day  that  Mr.  Robinson  sailed 
for  home  a  delegation  from  the  Associa- 
tion Improvement  Societies  presented 
him  with  a  purse  voluntarily  subscribed. 

"Returning  to  the  mainland,  the  city 
administration  in  Oakland,  Calif.,  en- 
gaged Mr.  Robinson  to  .  .  .  report  on 
the  park  possibilities — a  matter  in  which 
there  was  then  very  little  popular  in- 
terest. Six  months  after  the  report  was 
submitted  and  published,  an  issue  of 
$993,000  in  bonds,  for  the  purchase  of 
lands  he  selected,  was  voted  on  by  the 
people.  There  was  now  great  interest. 
The  Board  of  Trade,  the  Merchants'  Ex- 
change and  every  civic  organization  en- 
dorsed the  project,  an  open  letter  to  the 
citizens  from  Mr.  Robinson  was  pub- 
lished in  the  papers,  and  on  election  day 
the  principal  business  and  manufacturing 
houses  gave  their  workmen  an  extra  half 
hour  in  order  that  all  might  vote.  The 
result  was  an  extraordinarily  heavy  poll, 
with  a  majority  of  five  to  one  in  favor 
of  the  issue,  while  there  were  about  a 
dozen  precincts  in  each  of  which  the 
negative  vote  was  less  than  ten. 

"An  improvement  club  in  the  little 
city  of  Watertown,  N.  Y.,  engaged  his 
services  for  a  preliminary  study,  and  then 
commissioned  him  to  execute  various 
definite  plans.  The  rival  city  of  Ogdens- 
burg,  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  learning  of 
the  success  at  Watertown,  sent  for  him 
next.  Jamestown,  N.  Y.,  engaged  him 
through  its  new  park  commission.  .  .  . 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  called  him  next.  He  was 
employed  there  by  a  Joint  Committee 
representative  of  the  Commercial  Club, 
The  Federated  Women's  Clubs,  and  the 
Trades  and  Labor  Congress.  His  west- 
ern trips  had  come  to  be  a  series  of  re- 
ceptions.    ...     At  Des  Moines,     .     .     . 


at  Cedar  Rapids,  Salt  Lake,  Spokane, 
Seattle — wherever  he  stopped — commer- 
cial, civic,  or  political  bodies  made  him 
their  guest." 

Among  still  other  American  cities 
which  have  called  on  him  for  advice  as 
to  their  plan  or  development,  should  be 
noted:  Ridgewood,  N.  J.;  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa ;  San  Jose.  Calif. ;  Fayetteville, 
N.  Y. ;  Los  Angeles  and  Santa  Barbara, 
Calif. ;  Waterloo,  Iowa ;  Fort  Wayne, 
Ind. ;  Binghamton,  N.  Y. ;  Raleigh,  N.  C. ; 
Council  Blufifs,  Iowa;  Alton,  111.;  Greens- 
boro, N.  C. ;  St.  Joseph,  Mo.;  Omaha, 
Neb.;  and  Long  Beach,  Calif.  For  all 
these,  reports  have  been  published, 
which,  in  most  cases,  give  his  sole  recom- 
mendations, but  in  some  cases  embody 
the  joint  recommendations  of  a  group  of 
experts  of  which  he  has  been  one ;  as  in 
the  case  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  where  the 
Plan  Commission  included  also  Austin 
W.  Lord,  architect;  Charles  N.  Lowrie, 
landscape  architect;  Albert  Kelsey,  archi- 
tect; and  H.  A.  McNeil,  sculptor;  De- 
troit, Mich.,  in  which  project  he  was  as- 
sociated with  Frederick  Law  Olmsted, 
Jr. ;  and  Omaha,  Neb.,  where  he  collabo- 
rated with  George  B.  Ford  and  E.  P. 
Goodrich. 

From  October,  1915,  to  his  death,  Rob- 
inson had  been  continuously  associated 
as  Consultant  on  City  Planning  with  Mr. 
William  Pitkin,  Jr.,  landscape  architect, 
of  Rochester,  who  notes  the  following 
projects  as  the  most  important  ones  on 
which  Robinson  was  engaged  in  this 
capacity  during  the  last  two  and  a  quar- 
ter years  of  his  short,  busy  life:  a  report 
to  the  City  of  Lancaster,  Pa.,  on  the 
selection  of  a  station  site,  submitted 
March,  1917 ;  a  city  plan  for  Greensboro, 
N.  C,  the  rough  draft  of  which  was  com- 
pleted by  Robinson  a  few  days  before 
his  death  and  has  since  been  printed  in 
the  original  form  (the  week  before  he 
died,  he  had  been  at  Greensboro  at  work 
on  this  plan)  ;  a  plan  for  the  development 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITFXTS 


97 


of  Guilford  Rattle  Ground  Park  near 
Greensboro,  N.  C,  a  National  park  on 
the  site  of  which  occurred  the  Revolu- 
tionary battle  between  General  Green 
and  General  Cornwallis,  just  preceding 
the  latter's  surrender  at  Yorktown  (since 
Robinson's  death,  the  plans  have  been 
completed  by  Mr.  Pitkin)  ;  and  the 
Eclipse  Park  tract  at  Beloit,  Wis.,  a 
housing  development  for  Fairbanks- 
Morse  Company,  for  which  the  plans 
have  now  been  completed  by  Mr.  Pitkin. 

In  the  spring  of  1910,  having  become 
deeply  interested  in  problems  of  resi- 
dential subdivision,  he  came  to  the  Har- 
vard School  of  Landscape  Architecture 
for  special  study  and  for  some  months  of 
quiet  research  in  its  city-planning  col- 
lections. Though  regularly  enrolled  as 
a  student  in  the  writer's  advanced  course, 
he  was,  by  special  note  of  the  President 
and  Fellows,  made  the  guest  of  the  Uni- 
versity throughout  his  stay.  Largely  as 
a  result  of  his  visit  and  study,  but  as  a 
result  also  in  part  of  another  trip  to  Eng- 
land about  this  time  to  attend  the  Inter- 
national Town  Planning  Conference  in 
London,  his  next  important  book  on  city 
planning,  entitled  "The  Width  and  Ar- 
rangement of  Streets"  (appreciatively 
dedicated  to  the  Harvard  University 
School  of  Landscape  Architecture  and  to 
its  Chairman),  was  published  in  1911, 
and  was  five  years  later  rewritten,  much 
enlarged,  and  published  under  a  new 
title,  "City  Planning:  with  Sjiecial  Refer- 
ence to  the  Planning  of  Streets  and 
Lots,"  though  still  almost  exclusively 
concerned  with  the  fundamental  require- 
ments of  functional  street-platting  and 
particularly  in  relation  to  residential 
districts. 

In  1908  there  had  appeared  in  attrac- 
tive form  from  the  press  of  Paul  Elder 
&  Co.  his  "The  Call  of  the  City."  in 
which  all  who  love  the  city  will  find 
much  of  its  emotional  appeal  brought 
out   in   Robinson's  most   enjoyable  style. 


Something  of  the  rare  beauty  of  his  own 
.spirit  breathes  through  his  few  published 
poems. 

His  rare  native  gifts,  his  varied  journ- 
alistic experience,  his  naturally  sanguine 
temperament,  and  his  particularly  sane 
and  sympathetic  and  altogether  whole- 
some outlook  on  life  all  find  expression  in 
his  lucid,  persuasive,  and  unusually  pleas- 
ing style.  He  always  wrote  interesting- 
ly, and  his  written  contribution,  as  a 
clear,  straightforward  expounder  and 
pleader,  is  a  unique  one  to  the  subject  of 
civic  improvement,  particularly  in  its 
aesthetic  aspects. 

Though  city  planning  had  already  been 
taught  for  many  years  in  the  Harvard 
School  of  Landscape  Architecture,  there 
nevertheless  existed  in  no  American  uni- 
\ersity  a  Chair  of  Civic  Design.  In  1913, 
such  a  chair  was  established  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois,  and  Robinson  shortly 
acce])ted  a  call  to  it;  in  fact,  it  is  under- 
stood that  this  new  chair  was  created 
with  Robinson  in  mind  as  its  first  holder. 
He  thus  became  most  fittingly  the  first  in 
this  country  to  be  honored  with  the  title 
of  Professor  of  Civic  Design.  Of  the 
undergraduate  course  in  civic  design 
which  Robinson  forthwith  developed  at 
Illinois,  Prof.  Frederick  N.  Evans,  the 
present  head  of  the  Department  of  Land- 
scape Gardening  there,  who  was  most 
closely  associated  with  Robinson  in  this 
instruction,  says  that  it  was  given  as  a 
required  part  in  the  curriculum  of 
the  Landscape  Gardening  Department, 
though  open  also  to  other  members  of 
the  University ;  that  Robinson  conducted 
the  work  in  two  terms,  coming  from  his 
home  in  Rochester  to  Champaign  for 
four  weeks  in  the  fall,  and  six  weeks  in 
the  spring;  that  each  term  was  distinct 
in  its  scope,  the  fall  semester  having  to 
do  with  an  historical  study  of  city  plan- 
ning, its  aims  and  general  application  in- 
cluded under  the  term  "Repair,"  while 
the  spring  semester  looked  ahead  to  fu- 


98 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


ture  city-plannintj  efforts,  typified  by  the 
term  "Prepare;"  and  that  during  each 
term  he  endeavored  to  take  the  class  to 
some  good-sized  city,  where  for  two  or 
three  days,  its  members  would  be  brought 
into  close  touch  with  actual  examples  of 
the  problems  they  were  considering.  Re- 
ferring especially  to  the  quality  of  Rob- 
inson's instruction.  Prof.  Evans  writes: 
"From  a  wealth  of  experience  and  re- 
search he  was  able  to  emphasize  and 
vivify  every  point  touched  upon  with  in- 
teresting citations  and  illustrations.  His 
fund  of  knowledge  of  detail  in  his  sub- 
ject seemed  inexhaustible,  and  always 
his  ideas  in  the  classroom  were  given 
forth  with  a  lively  alertness,  at  times 
spiced  with  fine  humor,  and  in  terms  of 
such  masterly  English  expression  as  his 
students  will  never  forget."  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  his  early  death  prevented 
the  execution  of  a  plan  which  he  had  in 
mind  of  putting  into  book  form  the  sub- 
stance of  his  regular  lectures  to  his 
Illinois  classes  in  civic  design. 

No  full  list  ever  exists  of  the  well-nigh 
indefinite  number  of  organizations  with 
which  such  a  man  as  Robinson  becomes 
at  one  time  or  another  affiliated.  He  was 
recording  secretary  for  the  American 
League  for  Civic  Improvements,  organ- 
izer and  first  secretary  of  the  National 
Alliance  of  Civic  Organizations,  member 
of  the  City  Improvement  Committee  of 
the  Architectural  League  of  America,  of 
the  Arts  and  Crafts  Club  of  New  York, 
of  the  National  Municipal  League  (and 
member  of  its  Advisory  Council),  the 
American  Scenic  and  Historic  Preserva- 
tion Society,  the  National  Housing  As- 
sociation, the  National  Conference  on 
City  Planning,  the  American  City  Plan- 
ning Institute,  corresponding  member  of 
the  Twentieth  Century  Club,  Boston,  the 
only  member  outside  New  York  City  of 
the  New  York  State  Committee  on  Con- 
gestion of  Population  in  New  York,  and 
associate   member   of   the   American    So- 


ciety of  Landscape  Architects.  To  this 
National  Society  of  landscape  architects, 
though  not  a  landscape  architect  himself, 
he  was  elected  in  1915  in  recognition  of 
"the  notable  service  he  has  rendered  in 
his  pioneer  work  in  city  planning  in  this 
country;  as  author  and  civic  advisor;  and 
in  his  leading  many  individual  American 
cities  to  higher  ideals  of  rational  planning 
for  health,  efficiency,  and  beauty."  All 
over  this  country  he  was  an  honorary 
member  of  improvement  organizations. 
Abroad,  he  was  an  honorary  member  of 
the  Society  for  Checking  the  Abuses  of 
Public  Advertising  (S.  C.  A.  P.  A.),  of 
the  Council  for  the  Town  Planning  In- 
stitute of  England,  and  of  other  Euro- 
pean civic  societies.  Finally,  he  was  not 
without  honor,  even  in  his  own  home 
city:  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  where  he  had 
been  a  lifelong  resident,  he  was  a  park 
commissioner,  a  director  of  the  Children's 
Playground  League,  a  member  of  the 
Rochester  Art  League,  a  director  of  the 
Memorial  Art  Gallery,  secretary  of  the 
Civic  Improvement  Committee  which  se- 
cured the  Rochester  City  Plan,  mem- 
ber of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  Chairman  of 
its  City  Planning  Committee.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Frater- 
nity, and,  in  1905,  his  Alma  Mater  had 
appropriately  conferred  on  him  the  hon- 
orary degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 

At  his  death,  in  wartime,  he  was  an 
earnestly  interested  member  and  worker 
of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
Architects'  Special  Committee  to  Co- 
operate with  the  Comite  Neerlando-Belge 
d'Art  Civique,  which  is  the  official 
American  representative  of  that  Comite 
and  charged  with  aiding  it  in  every  way 
from  American  experience  in  its  collec- 
tion and  arrangement  of  material  for  the 
use  of  the  replanners — whoever  they 
shall  be — of  the  Belgian  communities  de- 
stroyed in  the  war.  To  this  work  he  had 
brought  his  characteristic,  rare  initiative. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


99 


ofood  judgement,  and  devoted  spirit  of 
service. 

In  1896  he  was  married  to  Eliza  Ten 
Eyck  Pruyn  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  who  sur- 
vives him.  She  was  always  most  closely 
associated  with  him  in  his  city  planning 
work,  often  accompanying;  him  on  his 
visits  to  distant  cities,  and  assisting;  in 
many  wa3's  in  the  effective  and  prompt 
accomplishment  of  his  service. 

Virtually  without  technical  training  in 
the  planning  of  areas  of  land  and  the  ar- 
rangement of  objects  upon  them  for 
man's  use  and  enjoyment :  without,  in 
fact,  any  specific  technical  training, 
either  as  a  landscape  architect,  or  as  an 
architect  or  engineer — the  three  profes- 
sions which  have  most  to  contribute  to 
the  development  of  expert  powers  in  the 
field  of  city  planning — his  alert  mind, 
profound  human  sympathy,  and  deter- 
mined purpose  enabled  him  nevertheless 
to  win  success  and  to  render  a  lasting 
service  to  his  profession,  to  his  country, 
and  to  the  world.  In  view  of  the  extra- 
ordinary  timeliness   of  his  writings   and 


of  his  professional  efforts  with  individual 
American  communities,  he  may,  with 
reason,  be  regarded  as  the  prophet  of 
city  planning  in  this  country.  For  his 
service,  from  the  very  nature  of  his  ap- 
proach to  the  problems  of  city  planning, 
has  been  essentially  as  a  publicist  and 
teacher,  and  as  a  wise  and  skillful  pro- 
fessional advisor  and  consultant  rather 
than  as  a  professional  designer  whose 
service  is  largely  rendered  through  more 
or  less  elaborately  developed,  detailed, 
drafted  plans  and  working  drawings, 
specifications,  and  estimates.  Somewhat 
of  the  latter,  particularly  in  his  later 
years  and  through  his  association  with 
Mr.  Pitkin,  he  did,  but  his  work  will  al- 
ways be  noteworthy  for  its  effectiveness 
without  these  usual  and  now  more  and 
more  necessary  means.  He  was  truly  sans 
peur  et  sans  reproche.  His  friends  will  al- 
ways honor  his  memory  as  much  for  his 
strong,  sterling  character,  his  unfailing 
gentleness  and  courtesy,  and  very  lovable 
personality  as  for  the  ability  behind  his 
g-reat  service. 


100 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


CHARLES  PIERPONT  PUNCHARD,  JR. 

A  MINUTE  ON   HIS  LIFE  AND  SERVICE 


Charles  Pierpont  Punchard,  Jr.,  Land- 
scape Architect,  Landscape  Engineer  to 
the  National  Park  Service,  and  a  Mem- 
ber of  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects,  died  at  his  home  in 
Denver,  Colorado,  on  November  12,  1920, 
in  his  thirty-sixth  year. 

He  was  born  in  Framingham  Center, 
Massachusetts,  June  3,  1885,  the  son  of 
Charles  Pierpont  and  Mattie  Frost 
(Blanchard)  Punchard.  He  was  of  old 
New  England  stock,  the  first  Punchard 
in  this  country  having  come  from  Dev- 
onshire, England,  with  John  Endicott's 
company  and  settled  in  Salem.  He  at- 
tended school  in  Framingham  till  the  age 
of  fifteen  ;  and  then,  when  his  family  re- 
moved to  Brookline.  attended  high  school 
there  until  in  1901  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
he  entered  the  office  of  his  uncle,  Wil- 
liam H.  Punchard,  Landscape  Architect, 
with  whom  he  got  his  first  professional 
training.  In  fact,  he  was  associated  with 
his  uncle  for  eight  years,  at  the  end  of 
which,  the  firm  being  then  Punchard  & 
Negus,  he  was  urged  by  Mr.  Negus  to 
apply  for  admission  as  a  Special  Student 
to  the  Harvard  course  in  Landscape 
Architecture.  For  two  years  he  studied 
Landscape  Architecture  at  Harvard 
where  his  clear  head,  sound  judgment, 
and  his  natural  response  to  the  beautiful 
in  art,  as  well  as  in  nature,  coupled  with 
his  characteristic  conscientiousness  and 
devotion,  enabled  him  to  stand  high  in 
all  his  work.  By  his  fellow-workers  he 
was  respected  for  his  practical  knowl- 
edge, and  was  beloved  by  all  because  of 
his  winning  personality.  Not  holding  a 
Bachelor's  degree  he  could  not  become  a 


candidate  for  the  professional  degree  of 
[Master  in  Landscape  Architecture  from 
the  Harvard  School,  though  he  did,  at 
the  time  he  left,  have  a  very  large  meas- 
ure of  the  professional  equipment  of  a 
graduate. 

During  this  period  of  work  in  the  Har- 
vard School,  he  had  formed  a  friendship 
with  Frederick  Noble  Evans.  They 
formed  a  partnership  under  the  firm 
name  of  Evans  &  Punchard,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1911  opened  an  office  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  for  the  all-round  practice  of 
the  profession.  The  new  firm  prospered 
and  extended  its  practice  widely,  even  to 
the  Pacific  Coast.  About  April  1,  1913, 
however,  when  Evans  was  in  California, 
Charles,  as  a  result  of  a  cold  caught  on 
a  professional  trip,  contracted  a  serious 
throat-disorder  and  was  obliged  to  quit 
work  and  go  to  a  sanitarium  at  Colorado 
Springs.  Professor  Evans,  in  a  letter  to 
the  writer  under  date  of  December  22, 
1920,  writes  of  Charles  as  follows: 

"I  saw  ill  Charles  a  personality  which  com- 
l)incd  in  an  unusual  way  professional  skill  and 
keen  judgment  and  likable  manly  qualities. 
The  proposition  of  going  with  me  to  Cleve- 
land appealed  to  him,  and  we  opened  an  office 
in  the  Scliofield  Building  at  a  time  when  the 
term  "Landscape  Architect"  required  explana- 
tion after  an  introduction  there.  As  I  had  cal- 
culated, his  experience  in  handling  details  of 
field  work  and  measured  drawings  for  con- 
struction proved  invaluable  to  us  and  from 
him  I  learned  a  great  deal.  He  worked  with 
a  speed  and  exactness  and  a  neatness  in  pre- 
sentation that  one  finds  inspiration  in  thinking 
of.  It  was  always  a  pleasure  to  introduce  him 
to  personal  and  business  friends,  because  these 
invariably  were  glad  to  claim  him  as  a  friend 
thereafter.  The  necessity  of  making  his  own 
way  to  a  great  extent  and  of  making  his  own 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


101 


decisions  had  led  to  a  judgment  more  mature 
than  one  usually  found  in  one  of  his  age.  I 
remember  with  some  sense  of  humor  his  way 
of  scoring  those  who  he  considered  had  not 
acted  squarely;  and  I  remember,  too,  the  many 
affectionate  memories  which  he  was  wont  to 
expand  upon  in  private.  It  was  with  con- 
sternation, while  in  Mr.  Child's  office  in  Santa 
Barbara  during  the  winter  of  1913,  having  ar- 
ranged with  Charles  for  e.xpanding  the  work 
in  the  West  which  Mr.  Child  kindly  rendered 
possible,  that  I  received  word  from  Charles  of 
the  sudden  attack  which  overtook  him.  His 
doctor  ordered  him  to  leave  Cleveland  at  once: 
but,  with  the  deterinamtion  of  the  captain  on 
;i  sinking  vessel,  he  wrote  that  he  would  not 
leave  till  I  returned,  which  I  soon  did.  1  did 
induce  him  to  go  finally,  seeing  him  in  Col- 
orado Springs  on  my  way  East.  "I  am  going 
to  win  this  fight,'  he  said  to  me,  as  I  left  him 
alone  in  his  room." 

Charles  did  win  his  fight  for  the  time 
being,  and  in  May,  1914,  he  was  able  to 
leave  the  sanitarium,  though  obliged  still 
to  exercise  a  great  deal  of  care  not  to 
bring  about  a  recurrence  of  his  difficulty, 
and  still  and  for  an  indefinite  time  to  re- 
main at  a  high  altitude.  He  was.  there- 
fore, obliged  to  renounce  the  idea  of  con- 
tinuing the  practice  of  Landscape  Archi- 
tecture with  Evans  in  Cleveland,  who, 
so  long  as  there  was  any  hope  of  Charles' 
return,  had  held  on  to  the  business  and 
the  firm  name.  Charles  settled  in  Den- 
\er  and  in  time  was  able  to  do  a  certain 
amount  of  professional  work.  In  the 
spring  of  1916  Mr.  Irvin  J.  McCrary,  who 
was  practicing  in  Denver,  offered  him  a 
place  ;and  he  was  with  McCrary  until  the 
spring  of  1917  and  from  letters  during 
that  time  to  the  writer  was  evidently 
happy  to  be  back  again  in  the  practice 
of  his  chosen  profession.  We  were  get- 
ting into  the  war  and  he  could  no  longer 
refrain  from  doing  his  utmost  to  get  in- 
to active  service.  He  was  unsucessful  in 
this  on  account  of  his  physical  condition 
hut  on  July  30.  191T,  he  received  his  ap- 
pointment to  a  position  in  Washington 
under  the  Fine  Arts  Commission  and  en- 
tered the  Service  of  the  Department  of 


Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  as  Land- 
scape Architect  for  the  District  of  Col- 
umbia. On  July  31,  he  was  transferred 
to  the  position  of  Landscape  Engineer  of 
the  National  Park  Service  of  the  Interior 
Department  and  was  serving  in  this 
capacity  at  the  time  of  his  death  in  Den- 
\er  on  the  evening  of  November.  12, 
1920. 

The  following  extracts  from  the 
writer's  correspondence  with  the  Na- 
tional Park  Service  is  believed  to  be  of 
interest  to  Charles  Punchard's  friends. 
Acting  Director  Mr.  Horace  M.  Albright 
writes  as  follows : 

"I  am  pleased  to  observe  your  interest  in 
Mr.  Punchard.  He  was  appointed  last  sum- 
mer as  Landscape  Engineer  in  the  National 
Park  Service  and  spent  several  months  in 
Yellowstone  Park  where  he  made  a  study  of 
the  arrangement  of  the  buildings  occupied  by 
the  various  concessioners.  As  a  result  of  his 
recommendations  we  have  required  the  camp- 
ing company,  particularlj-,  to  rearrange  and  al- 
ter certain  of  their  structures  and  otherwise 
make  their  camps  more  attractive  and  har- 
monious   with    the    environment. 

"Following  his  stay  in  Yellowstone  Mr. 
Punchard  made  a  survey  of  conditions  with 
a  view  to  more  comprehensive  developments 
in  General  Grant  and  Sequoia  National  Parks, 
and  then  proceeded  to  Yosemite,  where  he 
spent  most  of  the  winter  making  a  general 
study  of  conditions,  more  especially  with 
reference   to   the   Valley. 

"Mr.  Mather  had  him  accompany  him  for 
a  short  visit  to  the  Grand  Canyon  National 
Park,  and  took  him  later  to  Hawaii  to  make 
a  preliminary  inspection  of  the  National  Park 
in   the   islands. 

"As  Landscape  Engineer  Mr.  Punchard  oc- 
cupies a  position  of  considerable  responsibili- 
ty and  he  is  consulted  on  all  problems  dealing 
with  architectural  and  landscape  features  in 
the  various  parks.  He  is  regarded  as  par- 
ticularly competent  and  is  held  in  high  esteem 
by  all  of  us.  We  feel  that  he  is  especially 
fitted  for  the  work,  and  besides  I  am  sure  that 
he  has  a  genuine  interest  in  it  which  makes 
his  efforts  the  more  effective." 

And  in  reply  to  a  further  specific  in- 
quiry from  the  writer,  Mr.  Albright,  un- 
der date  of  May  29,  added  tlie  following : 


102 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


"As  few  new  improvements  were  being 
made,  the  position  of  landscape  engineer  was 
not  filled  until  we  secured  the  services  of  Mr. 
Punchard  last  summer.  He  devotes  himself 
exclusively  to  landscape  planning  and  general 
architectural  work.  He  has  no  administrative 
functions,  nor  does  he  have  control  of  the  gen- 
eral engineering  work,  which  is  under  the 
supervision  of  our  park  superintendents  and 
our  general  engineer.  His  advice  on  landscape 
matters,  however,  must  be  accepted  by  park 
superintendents  and  the  general  engineer,  and 
in  order  that  he  may  be  able  to  give  this  ad- 
vice on  the  ground  we  have  him  go  from  park 
to  park  as  occasion  arises  for  his  assistance." 

It  is  Stated  that,  while  Charles  was  in 
the  Yosemite,  the  King  and  Queen  of 
Belgium  in  their  tour  over  here  visited 
some  of  the  National  Parks,  and  he  was 
selected  to  be  the  personal  escort  of  the 
Queen,  and  also  that  at  the  end  of  the 
trip  the  King  decorated  him  with  one  of 
the  orders  of  the  Belgium  Court. 

On  May  15,  1920,  Charles,  who  had  for 
years  been  a  member  of  the  American 
Society  of  Landscape  Architects  and 
latterly  a  member  of  its  Standing  Com- 
mittee on  National  Parks,  said  in  the 
course  of  a  letter  to  the  writer : 

"I  am  working  on  a  letter  to  the  Committee 
on  National  Parks  and  hope  to  get  it  ofif  this 
next  week  if  possible,  although  I  am  very 
busy  with  other  developments   here. 

"The  tourists  and  campers  are  coming  in  to 
Yosemite  in  numbers  300  per  cent,  in  excess 
of  the  same  dates  last  season,  and  it  looks 
like  the  biggest  year  we  have  ever  experienced 
and  our  appropriations  no  larger  than  last 
year,  which  means  that  we  are  to  be  seriously 
crippled  for  improvements.  By  another  week 
we  will  have  to  cut  our  labor  force  to  not 
more  than  ten  men,  in  order  to  get  through 
till  July  1.  So  you  see  there  is  very  little 
money  for   landscape  work  this  summer." 

Mr.  Horace  M.  Albright,  then  Super- 
intendent of  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park,  writes  under  date  of  November  30. 
1920; 

"Of  course  you  have  heard  of  the  death  of 
our  Landscape  Engineer,  Mr.  Punchard.  This 
was  a  very  serious  loss  to  our  Bureau  and  per- 
sonally we  superintendents  feel  his  death  very 


keenly.  He  was  making  a  wonderful  success 
in  the  National  Park  Service." 

The  following  letter  from  Mr.  Arthur 
Hawthorne  Carhart,  Recreation  Engineer 
of  the  United  States  Forest  Service,  is 
particularly  significant  as  indicating  the 
e.xtent  to  which  Charles  extended  his  in- 
telligent and  broad-sighted  service  be- 
3'ond  the  confines  of  the  areas  immediate- 
ly under  his  control  and,  by  meeting  in 
a  friendly  cooperative  spirit  the  one 
Recreation  Engineer  in  the  Forest  Ser- 
\ice,  vmdoubtedly  did  much  toward 
tempering  the  feeling  of  jealously  which 
has  existed  in  some  quarters  between  the 
champions  of  these  two  Services,  repre- 
sented for  our  profession  by  Punchard 
and  Carhart: 

"Soon  after  I  came  to  this  work  in  the  for- 
ests I  met  Mr.  Punchard  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park.  After  this  meeting  we  corresponded 
and  whenever  possible  met  and  discussed  our 
problems.  There  is  a  belief  existing  in  some 
quarters  that  the  Park  and  Forest  Services  do 
not  cooperate  as  much  as  they  might,  but 
Punchard  and  I  had  no  difficulty  in  getting 
together  on  all  subjects  and  discussing  them 
freely.  We  had  planned  some  work  along 
cooperative  lines  which  was  to  cover  the  ap- 
proaches to  all  of  the  National  Parks  in  the 
District.  The  roads  into  the  majority  of  the 
parks  pass  through  National  Forests  and  con- 
stitute some  of  the  best  scenic  attractions 
viewed  by  visitors.  We  had  planned  to  cor- 
relate our  work  along  these  traffic  lines  so 
that  there  would  be  a  unity  impossible  to  se- 
cure without  close  cooperation." 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter 
dated  November  16  from  Mr.  Arno  B. 
Cammerer,  then  Acting  Director  of  the 
National  Park  Service,  to  Miss  Theodora 
Kimball.  Librarian  of  the  Harvard 
School  of  Landscape  Architecture,  is  the 
best  possible  evidence  of  the  way  in 
vvhich  the  officials  of  the  National  Park 
Service  regarded  Charles — his  work  and 
bis  jiersonality : 

"  'Punch,'  as  his  friends  were  wont  to  call 
him,  made  friends  wherever  he  hung  his  hat. 
Faithful,  loyal,  hard-working,  and  energetic, 
he  was  also  endowed  with  a  fund  of  good 
common  sense  and  rare  judgment  that  secured 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


103 


for  him  the  respect  of  all  with  whom  he  came 
in  professional  contact.  He  was  always  ready- 
to  devote  his  energies  to  public  duties,  irre- 
spective of  the  demands  on  his  vitalities.  In 
addition  to  his  work  as  landscape  architect  of 
the  District  he  rendered  great  services  to  the 
Public  Buildings  Commission  of  Congress 
when  the  investigations  and  report  of  that 
body  were  under  way.  I  myself,  as  Assistant 
Director  of  the  National  Park  Service,  saw 
him  shortly  before  his  death  in  Denver,  when 
he  told  me  that  he  had  so  many  reports  yet 
to  write  that  he  did  not  want  to  keep  away 
from  his  work  and  take  a  rest  'as  long  as  he 
could  push  a  pencil.'  Apparently,  however,  his 
strength  waned  fast  after  that,  because  two 
weeks  thereafter  a  telegram  was  received  at 
National  Park  headquarters  that  he  had  died. 
It  is  such  men  as  Mr.  Punchard  that  leave 
their  indelible  stamp  by  work  faithfully  and 
well  done,  which  serves  as  an  inspiration  to 
others  in  his   profession  and   in  the  Service. 


"As  an  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which 
Charles  Punchard  and  his  work  were  held  by 
Director  Mather,  the  Director  issued  instruc- 
tions that  all  flags  in  the  Park  Service  through- 
out the  country  were  to  be  at  half-mast  for 
thirty  days." 

In  closing  this  somewhat  informal 
minute  on  the  life  and  character  of 
Charles  Pierpont  Pimchard,  Jr.,  let  me 
quote  from  an  informal  resolution  signed 
by  certain  members  of  the  Boston  So- 
cietj-  of  Landscape  Architects  (informal, 
since  Charles  had  left  Boston  before  the 
Chapter  was  organized  and  so  was  never 
a  member  of  it)  : 

"We  had  learned  to  hold  him  in  affection  in 
his  early  days  of  promise,  to  love  his  personal 
charm  and  integrity,  and  to  admire  his  cour- 
age and  enthusiasm  in  following,  against  great 
odds,  the  high  cause  of  his  chosen  profession." 


104 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


JOHN  CHARLES  OLMSTED 

A  MINUTE  ON  HIS  LIFE  AND  SERVICE 


John  Charles  Olmsted,  Landscape 
Architect,  senior  member  of  the  firm  of 
Olmsted  Brothers,  Brookline,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  one  of  his  profession's 
ablest  and  most  respected  representa- 
tives, died  at  his  home  in  Brookline,  after 
a  long  illness,  on  February  25,  1920 ;  his 
wife,  Sophia  Buckland  (White)  Olmsted, 
and  his  two  daughters  surviving  him. 

He  was  born  in  Geneva,  Switzerland, 
September  14,  1852,  the  son  of  Dr.  John 
Hull  and  Mary  Cleveland  Bryant  (Per- 
kins) Olmsted.  His  father  was  the  eldest 
son  of  John  Olmsted,  a  prosperous 
merchant  of  Hartford,  Connecticut, where 
the  family  had  Hved  since  the  settlement 
of  the  place  in  1636,  having  come  from 
the  County  of  Essex,  England.  John's 
mother,  after  his  father's  death,  married 
his  father's  brother,  Frederick  Law  Olm- 
sted. John,  thus  originally  the  nephew, 
became  now  the  step-son  of  Frederick 
Law  Olmsted,  and,  in  the  course  of  time, 
the  half-brother,  as  well  as  the  first 
cousin,  of  Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  Jr., 
who,  by  John's  death,  now  becomes  the 
senior  member  of  the  Olmsted  firm. 

One  experience  of  his  boyhood  is  of 
special  interest  in  the  light  of  his  later 
career.  In  1864-5,  with  his  parents,  he 
visited  the  Yosemite  and  made  many 
camping  trips  in  that  region,  enjoying  to 
the  full  this  outdoor  life.  This  was  three 
or  four  years  before  the  now  famous  first 
visit  of  John  Muir  and  twenty-five  years 
before  Congress  was  led  to  set  apart  for 
all  time  the  Yosemite  Valley  with  some- 


thing of  the  adjacent  country  as  a  Nation- 
al Park. 

Owing  to  the  travels  of  his  parents,  he 
was  largely  privately  taught.  He  gradu- 
ated from  Yale  in  1875  with  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  from  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School. 

After  graduation,  he  entered  his  uncle's 
office,  then  at  209  W.  46th  St.,  New  York, 
and  in  1878  received  an  interest  in  the 
business.  In  1884,  after  the  office  was 
moved  to  Brookline,  he  became  a  full 
partner,  and  the  firm  became  F.  L.  and 
J.  C.  Olmsted.  On  the  former's  retire- 
ment, about  twenty  years  later,  John  be- 
came senior  partner  of  the  firm,  which 
had  meanwhile  been  enlarged  by  the  ad- 
mission of  Henry  Sargent  Codman  in 
1889  (becoming  then  F.  L.  Olmsted  & 
Co.),  and  of  Charles  Eliot  in  1893  (be- 
coming then  Olmsted,  Olmsted  and 
Eliot).  Codman  died  in  1893,  Eliot  in 
1897,  the  firm  for  one  year  then  becoming 
again  F.  L.  and  J.  C.  Olmsted.  In  1898, 
Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  Jr.,  was  admit- 
ted, the  firm  became  Olmsted  Brothers, 
and  so  remained  until  John's  death*,  and 
at  this  writing  continues  under  that 
name.  Owing  to  his  uncle's  condition, 
John  had  been,  in  fact  even  for  some 
years  before  the  latter's  formal  retire- 
ment, the  active  senior  member  of  the 
firm. 

*James  Frederick  Dawson  and  Percival  Gal- 
lagher had  been  admitted  to  associate  partner- 
ship in  1906. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


105 


Thus  for  more  than  forty  years,  he  was 
in  active  practice,  and,  during  all  that 
period,  he  was  concerned  with  large  and 
important  undertakings.  His  remark- 
ably extensive  experience  was  also  not- 
ably varied,  for  he  was  called  on  to  de- 
sign areas  for  a  great  diversity  of  uses. 
Hundreds  of  private  estates,  large  and 
small,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  the 
grounds  of  many  institutions — of  uni- 
versities, schools,  and  colleges  (includ- 
ing Smith  and  Mt.  Holyoke,  and  Ohio 
State  University) — of  industrial  plants, 
asylums,  sanitariums,  libraries,  state 
c-apitols,  town  halls  and  exposition  build- 
ings, were  developed  by  him — several  of 
these  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  With  his 
partners,  he  was  concerned  in  the  design 
of  the  grounds  of  the  World's  Fair  in 
Chicago.  1S9;5.  and,  as  one  of  the  de- 
signers of  the  laj^out  of  this  great  epoch- 
making  exposition,  he  received  one  of  the 
commemorative  medals  issued  to  certain 
participating  artists.  He  was  similarly 
concerned  with  the  plans  for  the  Seattle 
Exposition,  1909;  the  Lewis  and  Clarke 
Exposition,  Portland,  Oregon,  1906;  and 
the  Canadian  Industrial  Exposition  at 
Winnipeg.  Alanitoba — all  this  besides  his 
unique  work  on  ])ublic  playgrounds  and 
parks. 

He  always,  and  conspicuously  regard- 
ed Landscape  Architecture  as  a  profes- 
sion rather  than  as  a  business ;  yet,  and 
largely  for  that  reason,  on  the  business 
side  he  was  successful ;  and  it  is  said 
that  more  than  any  other  he  established 
the  professional  practice  of  his  firm  up- 
on a  sound  business  basis, — a  basis,  in 
fact,  that  has  influenced  the  organization 
of  the  businesses  of  many  other  firms  of 
landscape  architects  in  this  country. 

Some  further  appreciation  of  the  in- 
dustry and  success  of  his  firm  in  the 
vears  when  he  was  its  active  head,  mav 


be  gotten  from  the  fact  that  during  this 
period  their  professional  jobs,  as  shown 
by  a  recent  count  for  the  purposes  of  this 
minute,  numbered  about  three  thousand 
five  hundred.  While  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  determine  now  with  how  many 
of  these  he  had  directly  to  do  (and  there 
were  many  for  the  design  of  which  he 
was  in  no  degree  responsible)  the  pro- 
fessional responsibility  for  these  resting 
primarily  with  his  partner  or  partners,  it 
seems  clear  that  in  his  active  connection 
with  the  business  continuously  almost 
from  its  beginning,  the  proportion  of 
those  jobs  in  which  he  had  a  hand  must 
have  been  a  comparatively  large  one. 

Among  other  notable  powers  and  pro- 
fessional characteristics,  he  had  an  extra- 
ordinary visual  memory,  the  utmost  inde- 
pendence of  thought,  great  fertility  of 
resource,  a  pains-taking  care  for  the  de- 
tails of  his  schemes,  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  his  materials  including  plants, 
and  exceeding  skill  in  their  arrangement. 
His  fertility  of  ideas  and  professional  re- 
sourcefulness are  well  illustrated  by  two 
of  his  better-known  jobs,  the  houselots 
for  the  employees  of  the  National  Cash 
Register  Company,  Dayton,  Ohio,  which, 
even  when  uniform  in  area,  were  given 
ingeniously  varied  interest  and  livable  in- 
dividuality, and  the  famous  group  of 
Southside  Playgrounds  in  Chicago, 
where,  with  the  need  of  providing  similar 
elements  in  each  case,  every  area  has  its 
own  complete  and  functional  individual- 
ity born  of  a  skilful  utilization  of  space 
and  adaptation  to  differences  in  area  and 
local  need.  By  no  means  the  least  evi- 
dence of  his  power  in  this  latter  case  lay 
in  the  remarkable  shortness  of  time — not 
more  than  two  or  three  days — within 
which  these  varied  solutions  were  de- 
veloped and  the  plans  forwarded  to  Chi- 
casjo. 


106 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


He  had  early  disciplined  himself  to 
work  deliberately,  systematically,  effec- 
tively, without  haste,  without  waste,  but 
with  a  genuine  enjoyment  of  his  work. 
He  had  the  power  to  give  himself  over 
so  completely  to  the  subject  in  hand  as 
apparently  to  have  lost  any  and  all  con- 
sciousness of  the  passage  of  time;  and 
yet  in  the  matter  of  appointments  he  was 
the  soul  of  punctuality.  To  a  most  un- 
usual degree,  as  compared  with  other 
prominent  men  in  his  profession,  he 
seemed  fully  at  home  in  working  out  the 
relations  and  details  of  a  formal  scheme 
and  those  of  a  purely  naturalistic  one. 
On  the  one  hand,  he  had  a  working 
knowledge  of  architectural  forms  suffi- 
cient for  his  own  professional  purpose 
and  for  his  lifelong  co-operation  with 
architects,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a 
thorough  acquaintance  with  ground  form 
and  engineering  works.incidental  to  land- 
scape architecture  and  a  marvelously  de- 
pendable familiarity  with  the  plant  vo- 
cabulary of  his  art.  Thus  he  united  in 
his  own  person  a  most  rare  combination, 
exceedingly  difficult  for  one  individual  to 
acquire  of  very  different  professional 
powers,  and  was  able  to  maintain  these 
divergent  powers  in  admirably  balanced, 
sane,  and  wholesome  relation. 

As  one  of  those  who  worked  under  him 
in  his  most  active  time  has  said  of  him* : 
"Nothing  that  he  engaged  in  was  slighted 
or  done  without  careful  study."  This 
well-known  characteristic  coupled  with  a 
wide  knowledge  of  the  practical  affairs 
of  communities,  (for  he  was  a  thorough- 
ly practical  if  bold  idealist)  inspired  con- 
fidence in  men  of  affairs  charged  with  re- 
sponsibility for  large  and  costly  under- 
takings within  the  field  of  his  profession ; 
and,  as  the  same  writer  has  well  said: 
"The  range  of  difficulties  he  solved  in 
city  planning  would  in  itself  be  a  credit- 

*Mr.  E.  T.  Mische  of  Portland,  Oregon,  in 
"Park  and  Recreation"  for  April,  1920. 


able  record,  but  this  he  did  as  a  by-pro- 
duct in  the  planning  of  the  country's 
pleasure-ways,  parks  and  playgrounds." 

His  own  greatest  service — the  one  of 
most  far-reaching  influence — has  prob- 
ably been  in  park  design.  In  this  field, 
he  was,  with  his  partners,  concerned  in 
the  design  and  development  of  the  great 
park  system  of  Greater  Boston,  including 
the  Boston  Municipal,  Cambridge,  and 
other  local  parks,  as  well  as  the  Metro- 
politan System ;  the  exceptionally  beauti- 
ful large  parks  of  Hartford,  Connecticut ; 
parks  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  including 
the  Shore  Drive ;  the  extensive  Essex 
County,  New  Jersey,  system  of  parks ;  as 
well  as  parks  at  Bridgeport,  Connecticut; 
Fall  River,  Massachusetts ;  Buffalo,  Ro- 
chester and  Watertown,  New  York; 
Trenton,  New  Jersey ;  Chicago,  Illinois ; 
Dayton,  Ohio;  Detroit,  Michigan;  Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin ;  Seattle  and  Spo- 
kane, Washington ;  Portland,  Oregon, 
and  Portland,  Maine,  and,  in  the  South, 
Louisville,  Kentucky;  Charleston,  South 
Carolina ;  Atlanta,  Georgia,  and  New 
Orleans,  Louisiana. 

He  brought  to  these  problems  of  park 
design  an  unusual  combination  of  quali- 
ties which  gave  him  the  power  to  evolve, 
under  different  sets  of  natural  and  social 
conditions,  designs  of  varied  beauty,  each 
fitly  growing  out  of  the  local  circum- 
stances. The  public  benefit  of  this  great 
work,  in  developing  areas  in  all  sections 
of  the  country  for  the  happy  relaxation 
and  refreshment  of  city  population,  is 
truly  incalculable;  and,  since  a  well  lo- 
cated and  well  designed  park  of  any  con- 
siderable area  tends  to  increase  in  beauty 
with  the  passing  of  the  years,  these  parks 
— so  long  as  they  are  vigilantly  protected 
from  short-sighted  alterations  and  ex- 
ploitation or  diversion  to  other  uses — 
can  but  render  a  constantly  greater  ser- 
vice, and  constitute  an  enduring  monu- 
ment to  the  master's  expert  knowledge. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


107 


his  wise  foresi<^ht.  and  his  indefatie:able 
labors. 

It  has  not,  however,  been  merely 
through  his  own  extensive  practice  that 
he  has  served  his  profession*.  In  the 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Archi- 
tects and  the  Boston  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects,  he  had  for  years  been 
a  devoted  worker.  Of  the  former,  he 
was  the  first  President,  and  served  for 
many  years  on  its  Executive  Board,  and 
on  many  important  committees  concerned 
with  the  organization  and  advancement  of 
the  profession.  The  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held  by  his  professional  colleagues 
is  indicated  in  the  resolutions  which  were 
passed  by  the  American  Society  of  Land- 
scape Architects  and  the  Boston  Society 
of  Landscape  .\rchitects  and  accompany 
this  Minute. 

Short  of  stature,  but  possessed  of  quiet 
dignity,  retiring,  abounding  in  vigor,  "J. 

*The  breadth  and  catholicity  of  his  pro- 
fessional interests  not  only  in  his  own  chosen 
field  but  in  related  and  contributory  profes- 
sions and  fields  is  indicated  by  the  following 
partial  list  of  the  organizations  with  which  he 
was  connected  at  the  time  of  his  death.  He 
was  a  Member  for  thirty-thret-  years  of  the 
Boston  Society  of  Civil  Engineers;  Associate 
Member  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Architects; 
Member,  American  Association  of  Park  Super- 
intendents; Massachusetts  Horticultural  So- 
ciety: Municipal  Art  Society  of  New  York; 
American  Forestry  Association;  Appalachian 
Mountain  Club;  Associate,  Boston  Museum  of 
Fine  Arts;  and  a  Member  of  the  Century.  Re- 
form, and  National  Arts  Clubs  in  New  York. 


C.  O."  or  "J.  C.",  as  he  was  familiarly 
called,  was  at  once  a  strong  and  a  very 
gentle  and  kindly  personality ;  modest, 
and  soft-spoken,  but  firm  and  always 
having  the  courage  of  his  convictions. 

His  failing  health  stood  in  the  way  of 
his  active  participation  in  the  technical 
war  work  in  which  the  members  of  his 
profession  were  able  to  render  so  special 
a  service,  but,  during  the  almost  continu- 
ous absence  of  his  brother  in  Wa.shing- 
ton,  he  himself  kept  in  touch  with  the 
office:  and  afterwards,  throughout  the 
last  months,  when  confined  at  first  mere- 
ly to  his  home,  but  later  to  his  couch, 
his  strength  was  failing  under  the  ex- 
hausting strain  of  periods  of  great  suf- 
fering, he  still  for  a  long  time,  in  the 
quieter  intervals,  gave  some  attention  to 
his  firm's  business,  and  to  questions  be- 
fore the  American  Society  of  Landscape 
-Architects  in  which  he  was  keenly  inter- 
ested and  on  which  his  at  once  clear- 
headed and  kindly  judgment  was  of  very 
great  aid  to  his  colleagues  and  co-Trustees. 
Almost  to  the  last,  he  received  occasion- 
al short  visits  from  near  friends.  In  this 
way,  the  writer  was  privileged  to  see  him 
for  (jerhaps  twenty  minutes  only  a  few 
days  before  the  end,  and  was  more  than 
ever  impressed  with  his  clear  under- 
standing of  men  and  motives,  his  always 
generous  and  kindly  judgment,  his  quiet 
force  of  character,  his  unfailing  loyalty 
always  to  be  depended  upon,  and  his  ex- 
ceeding patience,  and  fortitude  under  the 
severest  trial. 


108 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


RESOLUTIONS  ON   THE   LIFE   OF  JOHN   CHARLES  OLMSTED 

Approved  by  the  Trustees  of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects 


March  2,  1920 

WHEREAS,  we,  the  members  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of,  and  representing,  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Landscape  Architects,  have 
learned  with  deep  regret  of  the  death,  on  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1920,  of  John  Charles  Olmsted,  Fel- 
low of  this  Society; 

WHEREAS,  Mr.  Olmsted,  from  early  as- 
sociation with  his  Father  and  through  an  ex- 
ceptionally long  and  active  professional  career 
as  Landscape  Architect,  had  brought  his  rare 
training  and  abilities  to  bear  upon  a  great  va- 
riety of  important  undertakings  in  all  parts  of 
this  country;  and 

WHEREAS,  Mr.  Olmsted  was  one  of  the 
Founders  of  this  Society,  and  its  first  Presi- 
dent; had,  in  all,  served  more  years  than  any 
other  as  its  President;  had,  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  been  serving  on  its  Executive  Commit- 
tee and  Board  of  Trustees  for  five  years,  and 
had  rendered  devoted  and  invaluable  service  on 
many  committees,  including  the  Examining 
Board;  be  it  and  it  hereby  is 


RESOLVED,  That  in  the  death  of  John 
Charles  Olmsted,  the  profession  of  Landscape 
Architecture  has  lost  one  of  its  most  thorough- 
ly equipped,  and  richly  experienced  practition- 
ers, whose  works  will  be  of  far-reaching,  benefi- 
cent influence;  and  that  this  Society  mourns 
the  loss  of  one  of  its  most  distinguished  and 
devoted  members,  whose  lively  interest  has 
been  shown,  even  up  to  within  a  few  days  of 
his  death,  in  all  that  concerned  the  welfare  of 
this  profession  and  this  Society. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  who  have  been  most 
closely  associated  with  him  in  the  work  of 
this  Society  and  this  Board  will  miss  con- 
stantly his  detailed  knowledge,  his  expert  judg- 
ment, and  particularly  his  quiet  strength  of 
character  and  his  generous,  kindly  spirit  which 
endeared  him  to  all  who  knew  him  well. 

RESOLVED.  That,  to  his  family  and 
friends,  we  extend  our  deepest  sympathy;  and 

RESOLVED,  That  a  committee  of  this  So- 
ciety be  appointed  to  draft  a  Minute  on  his 
life  and  work. 


BOSTON    SOCIETY    OF    LANDSCAPE    ARCHITECTS 

Approved  at  Meeting  of  the  Society  at  the  Boston  City  Club, 
Tuesday  Evening,  March    16,    1920 


RESOLVED,  That,  in  the  death,  on  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1920,  of  John  Charles  Olmsted,  one  of 
the  founders  of  this  Chapter  and  the  greatly 
respected  and  esteemed  senior  in  years  of  us 
all,  we  have  lost  one  of  our  most  loyal  and 
faithful  members,  and  one  whose  wisdom  and 
whose  watchfulness  have,  many  times  in  the 
life  of  the  Chapter,  stood  us  in  good  stead; 

RESOLVED,  That  his  unique  wealth  of 
technical  knowledge,  and  his  varied  profes- 
sional  experience   extending   over   many   years. 


and  derived  from  the  solution  of  most  im- 
portant private  and  public  problems  cannot  be 
replaced;  and  that  his  gentle  spirit  and  always 
kindly  and  generous  attitude  toward  us,  his 
colleagues  in  the  Chapter,  will  long  carry  on 
as  a  very  precious  memory;  and 

RESOLVED,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolu- 
tion be  sent  to  Mrs.  Olmsted,  a  copy  to  Olm- 
sted Brothers,  and  a  copy  to  LANDSCAPE 
ARCHITECTURE  for  publication  in  its  next 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


109 


REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  TRAVELING  EXHIBIT 


October   2,    1922. 

In  1920  the  Board  of  Trustees  appointed  a 
Committee  to  assemble  an  exhibition  of  work 
by  members  of  the  Society,  and  arrangements 
were  made  with  the  American  Federation  of 
Arts  by  the  Chairman,  Mr.  Stephen  Child,  to 
have  them  take  over  and  handle  the  exhibition 
after  it  was  finally  assembled.  When  Mr. 
Steele  was  appointed  chairman  in  July,  1920, 
with  Miss  Coffin,  Mr.  Caparn  and  Mr.  Whiting 
as  committee  members,  active  measures  to- 
ward assembling  an  exhibit  had  been  started 
and  under  way  for  some  time.  Although  mem- 
bers had  long  been  circularized,  asking  for 
photographs  of  their  work  which  could  be 
used  for  the  purpose,  nothing  had  been  re- 
ceived. 

Repeated  efforts  made  during  the  following 
year  in  writing  and  often  by  the  Chairman  in 
person  brought  results  from  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  the  members.  It  was  like 
pulling  teeth  to  get  action  from  anybody.  The 
committee  was  most  grateful  to  all  who  sent 
in  the  material  from  which  the  exhibition  was 
the  final   result. 

The  committee  had  previously  determined 
that  this  exhibit  should  be  composed  entirely 
of  photographs  of  domestic  work,  as  it  be- 
lieved that  the  appeal  of  this  side  of  profes- 
sional endeavor  was  special  and  that  other 
phases  deserved  a  separate  exhibit  which 
should  follow  in  due  time.  It  had  also  de- 
termined that  the  presentation  should  be  uni- 
form in  the  quality  and  technical  finish  of  the 
photographs.  These  standards  were  main- 
tained very  much  to  the  advantage  of  the  show 
as  it  finally  appeared. 

In  the  interest  of  harmonious  treatment  and 
in  hope  of  covering  ground  that  would  not 
otherwise  be  photographed,  the  committee 
urged  that  the  members  engage  Mr.  E.  Crosby 
Doughty  of  Williamstown  to  take  their  pho- 
tographs. Weather  conditions  all  that  sum- 
mer were  unsatisfactory  for  photography,  but 
Mr.  Doughty  submitted  a  large  number  of 
prints  which  were  used.  In  addition  several 
members  furnished  their  own  photographs. 

The  final  selection  was  made  with  an  idea 
of  getting  as  much  variety  in  subject  as  might 
be.  While  the  work  of  individuals  and  firms 
was   grouped   as   much    as   possible,   yet   when 


illustration  of  the  subject  matter  seemed  to 
make  it  desirable,  the  committee  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  break  up  such  groups  in  order  to  lay 
emphasis  on  problems  of  design  rather  than  on 
the  name  of  the  designer.  Thus  drives,  wild 
gardens,  entrances,  etc.,  were  assembled  as  far 
as  reasonably  could  be  done. 

The  photographs  were  mounted  on  light 
wooden  backs,  matted  with  card-board  and 
protected  by  thin  celluloid.  The  mounts  fitted 
into  specially  made  trunks.  Each  board  was 
numbered  and  each  photograph  given  a  brief 
caption  to  draw  attention  to  specific  points  in 
landscape  design  which  it  illustrated.  It 
would  have  been  impossible  to  get  this  work 
so  expeditiously  done  without  the  very  active 
services  of  Edward  C.  Whiting  of  Olmsted 
Brothers  who  made  it  possible  to  do  the 
mounting  in  the  office  of  his  firm  with  the  as- 
sistance of  his  office  force. 

Those  photographs  showing  the  work  of 
New  England  members  were  first  seen  at  a 
joint  exhibition  with  the  Boston  Society  of 
.A.rchitccts  in  February.  The  whole  was  hung 
as  the  official  exhibit  of  the  American  Society 
of  Landscape  Architects  with  the  Architectural 
League  Exhibition  held  in  the  new  wing  of 
the  Metropolitan  Museum,  New  York,  in  April. 
Then,  according  to  an  arrangement  which  had 
been  previously  made  by  Mr.  Stephen  Child,  with 
the  .American  Federation  of  Arts,  the  latter 
took  over  its  complete  control,  insurance, 
routing  and  exhibiting  throughout  the  coun- 
try. This  relieved  us  of  a  difficult,  even  in- 
superable task.  It  has  been  seen  in  a  number 
of  places  and  is  always  well  received. 

The  exhibit  was  frankly  far  less  good  than 
had  been  originally  hoped  for  by  the  commit- 
tee. It  was  less  good  than  it  might  have  been 
if  the  committee  had  sweated  over  it  for  two 
or  five  years  instead  of  one.  But  we  had  en- 
gaged to  have  it  out  by  a  certain  date  for  the 
Federation  of  Arts,  and  this  had  to  be  done. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  similar  and  better  ex- 
hibit will  he  arranged  in  the  future.  But  be- 
fore that  is  done,  it  is  exceedingly  important 
that  the  Society  should  prepare  an  exhibit 
showing  other  branches  of  the  work  including 
city  planning  and  park  design,  which  should 
be  used  for  public  education  in  the  subjects 
and  as  a  means  of  showing   the  extensive  aid 


no 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


which    landscape    architecture    brings    to    bear 
on  such  important  problems. 

EXHIBITORS  IN  THE  A.  S.  L,  A. 
TRAVELING  EXHIBIT 

Blossom   i  photographs 

Brinley     8 

Child     2 

Coffin    3 

Greenleaf     '' 

Hubbard     4 

Lay    12 

Leavitt    2 

Lowrie    4 

Nason     1 

Olmsted     20 

Parker    2 

Pitkin    6  " 

Pond    2 

Robinson     1 

Sanger    8 

Schermerhorn 2 


Sears   R  photographs 

Shurtleff    2 

Smith    4 

Steele    4 

Underwood   3 

Vitale    15 

SCHEDULE  OF   EXHIBIT 
1920-1921 

Ypsilanti,  Michigan. 
Columbus,    Ohio. 
Dayton,  Ohio. 

To  be  shown  at: 

Memphis,    Tennessee. 
Montgomery,  Alabama. 
Utica,  New  York. 
Pittsburgh,  Penn. 
Cambridge,  Mass. 
Peoria,  Illinois. 
Bloomington,  Illinois. 
Lynchburg,  Virginia. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


111 


EXHIBITIONS  OF   INDIVIDUAL  CHAPTERS 


Boston  Chapter:  In  February  1915  the  So- 
ciety held  its  first  Exhibition.  In  November 
1916.  November  1917,  April  1920  and  February 
1921.  the  Society  co-operated  with  the  Boston 
Society  of  Architects  and  others  in  joint  ex- 
hibitions that  attracted  considerable  attend- 
ance and  publicity. 

Mid-West  Chapter:  The  Mid-West  Chapter 
of  the  American  Society  has  co-operated  with 
the  Ohio  State  Conference  on  City  Planning 
in  their  exhibitions  of  1920  at  Cincinnati  and 
1921  at  Columbus.  Several  members  have  ex- 
hibited at  the  National  Conference  on  City 
Planning  and  joined  in  other  exhibitions. 
Members  throughout  the  Mid-West  in  various 
cities,  have  also  exhibited  quite  extensively  in 
the  Better  Homes  Week  exhibitions  where  lo- 
cal chapters  of  the  American  Institute  of  Archi- 
tects co-operated.  The  results  were  apparent- 
ly most  satisfactory. 

Minnesota    Chapter:    The    Minnesota    Chap- 


ter held  an  exhibition  in  conjunction  with 
several  Architects  in  Minneapolis  at  the 
Minneapolis  Building  Show  in  the  spring  of 
1921.  They  also  held  an  exhibition  in  con- 
junction with  the  St.  Paul  Chapter  A.  I.  A.  in 
St.  Paul  Public  Library  in  the  spring  of  1922. 

New  York  Chapter:  The  New  York  Chapter 
has  exhibited  under  the  auspices  of  the  .\rchi- 
tectural  League  and  in  1921  individual  mem- 
bers exhibited  at  the  Horticultural  Show  and 
the  City  Gardens. 

Pacific  Coast  Chapter:  The  Pacific  Coast 
Chapter  has  held  no  Chapter  Exhibitions.  In- 
dividual members  have  exhibited  with  other 
organizations,  among  these  being  the  Regional 
Planning  Conference,  the  Industrial  Exhibit, 
at  the  City  Club  of  Los  Angeles,  at  the  City- 
Club  of  Portland  and  other  places.  Numer- 
ous illustrated  articles  have  been  published, 
some  of  which  have  appeared  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the   Pacific  Coast   Chapter. 


112 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


REPORT  OF  JOINT  COMMITTEE  ON  RELATIONS  WITH 

TRADES 


On  January  18.  1917,  William  H.  Moon, 
Chairman  of  the  Ornamental  Growers'  Asso- 
ciation; Harlan  P.  Kelsey,  of  the  Ornamental 
Growers'  Association;  James  L.  Greenleaf, 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Relations  with 
Trades  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.;  and  Ferriiccio  Vitale 
held   a   preliminary  and  informal   meeting. 

Mr.  Moon  stated  that  the  committee  under 
appointment  of  the  American  Nurserymen, 
and  the  committee  under  appointment  by  the 
Ornamental  Growers'  Association  have  pro- 
posed to  unite  for  conferences  with  our  com- 
mittee and  then  report  back  to  their  respec- 
tive societies.  Mr.  Vitale  explained  how  the 
A.  S.  L.  A.  and  the  Chapters  had  formed  their 
committees,  and  endeavored  to  make  clear  the 
distinction  between  matters  pertaining  pure- 
ly to  the  Chapter  committees  and  those  with- 
in the  province  of  the  main  committee  of  the 
A.  S.  L.  A.  Mr.  Kelsey  suggested  that  the  or- 
ganization of  Park  and  Cemetery  Superintend- 
ents be  later  on  admitted  to  the  discussions. 

Mr.  Kelsey  requested  that  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  appoint  a  member 
to  address  the  representatives  of  the  Orna- 
mental Growers'  Association  at  their  next  sum- 
mer meeting.  The  president  appointed  Fred- 
erick Law  Olmsted  to  represent  the  Society 
at  this  meeting,  but  later,  on  account  of  very 
important  work  undertaken  by  Mr.  Olmsted 
with  the  Council  of  National  Defense,  he  did 
not  attend  the  meeting,  and  Mr.  Vitale  was 
delegated  to  take  his  place.  Subsequently  the 
Committee  began  discussing  in  a  very  inform- 
al way  some  of  the  fundamental  ethical  points 
upon  which  relations  should  be  based,  and 
this  developed  into  a  preparation  of  a  draft  of 
"Obligations  on  the  Part  of  the  Nurseryman," 
and  other  questions  which  came  in  succeed- 
ing years  and  are  referred  to  in  subsequent 
paragraphs  . 

At  the  January  1918  meeting  of  the  Joint 
Committee  on  Relations  with  Trades,  further 
consideration  was  given  to  the  question  of 
such  subjects  as  the  signing  of  way-bills,  the 
giving  of  commissions  by  nurseries  to  gard- 
eners, the  question  of  nurserymen  making 
landscape  designs  and  executing  them  and 
other    questions   of   a    similar   nature.      At    the 


previous  meetings  some  of  these  points  also 
had  been  discussed  and  the  conclusions  for- 
warded to  the  various  societies  for  their  com- 
ments. In  regard  to  nurserymen  handling  de- 
sign work  the  Board  of  Trustees  returned  the 
following  comment   to  the   Committee: 

"The  Board  hopes  that  the  Committee  will 
find  a  way  to  deal  effectively  in  its  joint 
meetings  with  representatives  of  the  Trade, 
with  the  evil  of  nurserymen  rendering  any 
professional  service  at  all  as  designers. 
Landscape  Architecture  is  no  more  properly 
the  business  of  nurserymen  than  the  nursery 
business  is  any  proper  part  of  the  business 
of  the  landscape  architect,  and  the  relations 
between  the  profession  and  the  nursery  trade 
will  never  be  entirely  efficient  and  harmoni- 
ous until  all  nurserymen  in  good  standing  in 
their  respective  organizations  cease  to  prac- 
tice landscape  architecture  at  all,  whether 
for,  or  not  for,  a  fee  just  as  landscape  archi- 
tects in  good  standing  and  members  of  the 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects 
refrain  from  engaging  in  nursery  business. 
In  this  connection,  the  Board  has  been  fav- 
orably impressed  by  Mr.  Vitale's  suggestion 
that  the  small  lot  may  be  handled  by  young 
men  in  our  offices  on  their  own  account. 

"The  Board  hopes  that  the  joint  meet- 
ings which  have  already  accomplished  so 
much  in  the  direction  of  a  better  understand- 
ing and  co-operation  between  the  profes- 
sion and  the  trade  will  become  the  natural 
occasions  for  the  registration  of  specific 
complaints  of  landscape  architects  against 
individual  nursery  firms,  and  of  specific  com- 
plaints of  nursery  firms  against  individual 
landscape  architects,  where  they  may  be 
frankly  considered  and  effectively  dealt 
with." 

The  next  regular  meeting  of  the  committee 
was  held  January  24,  1919,  at  the  office  of  Mr. 
Vitale,  New  York  City.  At  this  meeting  Mr. 
Olmsted  brought  up  the  question  as  to  what 
extent  nurserymen  were  willing  to  undertake 
contracts  for  planting,  and  so  forth.  The  dis- 
cussion brought  out  that  while  certain 
nurserymen  were  prepared  to  sell,  deliver  and 
plant  nursery  materials  whether  on  a  contract 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


113 


basis  or  at  a  fixed  price  for  the  plants,  cost  of 
transportation,  and  planting,  other  nursery- 
men were  not  willing  to  undertake  this  ser- 
vice and  preferred  that  their  responsibility 
cease  upon  delivery  of  plants  to  the  common 
carriers. 

Mr.  Vitale  requested  a  discussion  on  the 
phrase  "nursery  grown"  in  an  endeavor  to  get 
the  trade  explanation  of  the  term.  After  due 
deliberation  Mr.  Meehan  dictated  the  follow- 
ing,  which  was  adopted: 

"The     definition     of     the     phrase    'nursery 
grown'   would   be   any   nursery   stock  grov.  n 
at  least  one  year  in  a  nursery  and  which  has 
been   subject   to   State   Inspection." 
Mr.   Olmsted   presented   a   draft   on   the   ob- 
ligations   which    are   normally    implied    by    the 
placing  and  acceptance  of  an  order  for  nursery 
stock,  in  the  absence  of  specific  stipulations  to 
some  other  effect. 

A  draft  of  insurance  policj'  prepared  by  Mr. 
Vitale  and  Mr.  Olmsted  in  collaboration  was 
presented  for  discussion.  It  was  immediately 
evident  that  the  opinions  of  the  members  of 
the  Joint  Committee  were  so  different,  and  in 
instances  so  diametrically  opposed  that  it  was 
impossible  to  come  to  any  agreement.  It  was 
decided  to  drop  all  consideration  of  any  kind 
of  insurance  and  so  notify  the  nurserymen  and 
landscape  architects:  then,  if  necessary,  it  may 
be  taken  up  later. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Joint  Committee 
of  the  Ornamental  Growers'  .Association,  the 
American  Association  of  Nurserymen,  the 
Garden  Club  of  America,  and  the  American 
Society  of  Landscape  Architects,  was  held  on 
February  19,  1919,  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Vitale. 
Three  principal   items   were   taken   up: 

First,  a  statement  of  well  understood  obli- 
gations which  are  normally  implied  by  the 
placing  and  acceptance  of  an  order  for  nursery 
stock  unless  specifically  modified.  These  ob- 
ligations were  finally  accepted  as  appears  in 
the  appended  statement.  The  Board  of  Trustees 
of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  approved  of  them  with 
slight  modifications  and  the  Society  voted 
their  acceptance. 

Second:  A  brief  statement  was  approved 
which  outlines  the  methods  for  the  payment 
of  bills  for  nursery  stock  ordered  by  land- 
scape architects  for  the  account  of  their 
clients;  also  a  procedure  for  collecting  these 
bills  on  the  part  of  the  nurserymen.  This 
memorandum  is  herewith  appended  and  has 
been  approved   by  our  Society. 


Third:  The  matter  of  insurance  of  plant  ma- 
terial was  thoroughly  discussed  but  it  was 
evident  that  no  agreement  could  possibly  be 
reached  on  the  subject.  It  seems  to  be  the 
concensus  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  landscape 
architects  as  well  as  nurserymen  to  discour- 
age any  form  of  insurance  or  guarantee,  and 
it  seems  that  the  nurserymen  wish  to  avoid 
any  committment  one  way  or  another  in  re- 
gard to  this  insurance  or  guarantee.  It  was 
decided  at  the  meeting  that  further  study  of 
the  matter  be  made  with  the  idea  of  later  re- 
porting on  the  subject.  The  Chairman,  Mr. 
Vitale,  felt  that  without  action  of  a  different 
kind  nothing  could  ever  be  accomplished  on 
this  subject,  and  he  submitted  a  form  of  guar- 
antee contract  in  use  in  the  office  of  Vitale, 
Brinckerhoflf  and  Geiffert,  to  a  number  of  land- 
scape architects  and  nurserymen,  requesting 
them  to  state  if  they  would  agree  to  use  it  in 
all  cases  where  a  guarantee  is  necessary,  and 
the  majority  of  the  answers  were  favorable. 
The  form  of  contract  was  then  presented  to 
the  Board  of  Trustees  of  our  Society,  request- 
ing them  to  approve  it  and  recommend  it  to 
the  membership.  The  Board  of  Trustees  ap- 
proved of  it  and  the  majority  of  the  members 
of  the  Society  voted  for  its  adoption.  The 
Committee  does  not  believe  that  the  Nursery- 
men's .Associations  will  equally  adopt  it 
officially,  but  is  convinced  that  the  individual 
nurserymen  will  not  refuse  to  sign  it  in  in- 
dividual cases.  It  also  believes  that  this  form 
of  contract  is  really  the  only  protection  that 
a  landscape  architect  can  give  his  clients 
when,  in  spite  of  his  endeavors  to  discourage 
a  guarantee,  he  is  compelled  to  request  the 
nurserymen  to  guarantee  their  stock. 

Apart  from  the  meetings  of  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee as  stated  above,  it  has  had  considerable 
correspondence  with  associations  and  in- 
dividuals in  regard  to  the  Quarantine  Act  No. 
'.i~.  and  in  regard  to  greater  co-operation  be- 
tween nurserymen  and  landscape  architects  in 
the  vast  work  of  public  education  which  the 
nurserymen's  associations  are  undertaking. 
The  majority  of  the  best  nurseries  are  in  favor 
of  the  Quarantine  Act.  Those  who  are  not 
in  favor  of  it  have  not  been  able  up  to  date  to 
bring  sufficiently  weighty  arguments  to  war- 
rant reopening   the  matter  at  Washington. 

A  meeting  of  the  Joint  Committee  was  held 
May  31,  1921,  at  the  City  Club,  and  attended 
by  Miss  Rose  Standish  Nichols.  Chairman  of 
the  Committee  on  the  Garden  Club  of  Ameri- 
ca; Mr.  Thomas  B.  Meehan,  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  of  both   the  American  Association 


114 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


of  Nurserymen  and  the  Ornamental  Growers' 
Association;  and  the  Chairman  of  our  Com- 
mittee on  Relations  with  Trades. 

At  this  meeting,  copies  of  the  amendments 
which  were  approved  by  vote  of  the  members 
of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.,  Inc.,  during  February,  1921, 
were  handed  to  the  Chairman  of  the  other 
Committees   of   the  Joint    Committee. 

The  Amendments  referred  to  the  memoran- 
dum of  the  Committee  on  Relations  with 
Trades  entitled,  "Obligations  which  are  nor- 
mally implied  by  the  placing  and  acceptance 
of  an  order  for  nursery  stock  in  the  absence 
of  specific  stipulations  to  some  other  effect." 
This  memorandum  had  been  in  general  ap- 
proved by  vote  of  the  members  of  the  A.  S. 
L.  A.  at  the  annual  meeting  of  1921,  and  also 
approved  and  adopted  by  the  American  As- 
sociation of  Nurserymen  and  the  Ornamental 
Growers*  Associations  at  their  regular  meet- 
ings in  1921,  and  the  above  mentioned  Asso- 
ciations have  approved  and  adopted  the 
Amendments  of  February  25,  1921.  Copies  of 
the  original  memorandum  and  the  amendments 
have  been  sent  to  all  members  of  the  A.  S. 
L.  A.,  Inc.,  and  after  their  adoption  by  the 
nurserymen's  associations,  they  were  printed 
in  the  nursery  trade  papers,  so  that  there  is 
now  a  very  general  knowledge  of  the  agree- 
ment which  covers  many  important  points  on 
the  relations  between  the  nurserymen  and 
landscape  architects. 

In  addition  to  the  matters  embodied  in  the 
memorandum  and  the  amendments  many 
others  were  discussed  at  considerable  length, 
but  no  definite  conclusions  were  reached.  The 
principal  subjects  under  discussion  were  the 
following: 

1.  Standardizing  of  sizes  and  grades  of 
Nursery  Stock  and  the  desirability  of  making 
a  draft  of  specifications. 

2.  Standardization   of  prices. 

3.  Uniformity  in  the  matter  of  discounts 
allowed  by  Nurserymen  to  clients  of  Land- 
scape  Architects. 

4.  Commissions  to  Gardeners. 

5.  Modification  of  the  law  or  administra- 
tive methods  governing  the  importation  of 
plants. 

In  regard  to  the  first  four  subjects,  Mr.  Mee- 
han  explained  that  the  nurserymen  had  been 
considering  them  for  many  years  and  that 
some  progress  had  been  made,  but  that  there 
were  great   difficulties  in  the  way  of   satisfac- 


tory standardization  because  of  the  differences 
in  the  cost  of  production  and  the  character 
and  conditions  of  trade  in  the  various  parts  of 
the  country.  It  was  generally  agreed  that 
these  matters  would  have  to  be  worked  out 
eventually  by  the  nurserymen  themselves,  and 
that  the  Joint  Committee  could  not  contribute 
very  much   in  the  solution  of  these   problems. 

In  regard  to  the  Quarantine  Act  (No.  37) 
which  prohibits  the  importation  of  plants  for 
immediate  sale,  Mr.  Meehan  explained  that  the 
nurserymen  in  general  had  changed  their  at- 
titude toward  this  act.  In  the  beginning  they 
had  opposed  it,  but  since  it  became  a  law, 
they  have  made  the  necessary  provisions  for 
propagating  and  growing  most  of  the  ma- 
terials that  had  previously  been  imported,  and 
that  the  nurserymen  were  now  in  favor  of  its 
enforcement.  The  real  grievances  of  the 
nurserymen  at  the  time  of  this  meeting,  were 
the  state  quarantine  and  embargos  and  regu- 
lations of  the  Federal  Horticultural  Board  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture  at  Washing- 
ton, which  prohibit  the  sale  and  transporta- 
tion of  many  kinds  of  nursery  stock  outside 
of  certain  states,  counties  or  arbitrarily  de- 
fined  districts. 

Our  Committee  was  not  in  a  position  to 
make  any  definite  suggestion  in  regard  to  the 
modification  of  the  law  or  of  the  administra- 
tive methods  governing  the  importation  and 
transportation  of  plants.  The  subject  is  a  very 
complicated  one  and  will  have  to  be  investigated 
and  studied  further.  The  purpose  of  Quarantine 
Order  No.  37  and  the  regulations  of  the  Federal 
Horticulture  Board  is  to  prevent  the  intro- 
duction and  to  check  the  spread  of  insect 
pests,  scale  and  fungus  diseases  and  is  a  mat- 
ter which  deserves  careful  consideration.  The 
landscape  architects  may  make  their  influence 
for  good  felt  in  a  direct  way  by  urging  all 
clients  to  keep  their  trees  and  shrubs  clean  by 
spraying  and  other  accepted  means  of  fighting 
the  enemies  of  plant  life. 

The  relations  between  the  nurserymen  and 
the  members  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  are  very  friend- 
ly. It  is  believed  that  there  are  at  present 
very  few  misunderstandings,  and  the  commit- 
tee has  noticed  with  gratification  the  evidence 
of  a  spirit  of  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the 
nurserymen,  and  an  appreciation  on  their  part 
of  the  professional  aims  and  the  business 
methods  of  the  members  of  the  American  So- 
ciety of  Landscape  Architects. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


115 


OBLIGATIONS  WHICH  ARE  NORMALLY  IMPLIED  BY  THE   PLACING  AND 

ACCEPTANCE  OF  AN  ORDER  FOR   NURSERY   STOCK.   IN   THE   ABSENCE 

OF  SPECIFIC  STIPULATION  TO  SOME  OTHER  EFFECT 


A.  On   the  part  of  the   nurseryman. 

1.  That  the  stock  shipped  shall  be  true 
to  name.  (The  standard  names  are  those  of 
the  American  Joint  Committee  on  Horti- 
cultural Nomenclature.  The  plants  corre- 
sponding to  these  names  are  those  described 
in  Bailey's  cyclopedia,  as  per  references  in 
the  check  list  of  the  American  Joint  Com- 
mittee on  Horticultural  Nomenclature.) 

2.  That  the  stock  shipped  shall  be  of  the 
size  and  quality  represented  by  the  nursery- 
man. (An  attempt  to  standardize  and  de- 
fine terms  descriptive  of  size  and  quality  is 
being   made   by    the   nurserymen.) 

3.  That  all  reasonable  care  and  skill  shall 
be  exercised  in  digging,  handling,  and  pack- 
ing the  stock,  having  due  regard  to  the 
species,  size  and  character  of  the  plants,  to 
the  climatic  conditions  at  the  time  and  place 
of  digging,  of  transit  and  of  delivery,  and  to 
the  normal  time  consumed  in  transit  and 
method  of  handling  in  transit  by  the  trans- 
portation agencies  selected,  and  that  all  pre- 
cautions which  are  customary  in  good  trade 
practice  shall  be  taken  to  ensure  that  the 
plants  will  arrive  in  good  condition  for  suc- 
cessful growth  unless  culpably  delayed  or 
mishandled  while  in  charge  of  the  transpor- 
tation agencies. 

4.  That  notice  of  shipment  is  to  be  sent 
in  due  season  to  the  person  placing  order 
and  to  consignee,  stating  time  and  method  of 
shipment,  number  and  kind  of  containers, 
(boxes,  bundles,  carloads,  etc.).  name  of 
transportation  agency,  name  and  address  of 
consignee,  and  whether  transportation 
charges  are  prepaid  or  collect. 

B.  Upon  the  part  of  the  person  placing  the 
order,  or  of  others  acting  under  his  instruc- 
tions. 

1.  That  arrangements  shall  be  made  for 
the  prompt  receipt  of  the  consignment  upon 
notice  from  the  transportation  agency  that 
it  is  ready  for  delivery  at  point  of  destina- 
tion. 

:.'.  That  if  at  the  time  of  delivery  there  is 
evidence  of  damage  during  transit,  or  if 
there  has  been  serious  delay  in  delivery,  the 
way-bills   shall   be   signed   "under  protest." 

3.  That  a  notice  of  the  receipt  of  stock 
shall  be  sent  to  the  shipper  within  two  days 


of  their  receipt  from  the  transportation 
agencj',  stating  whether  way-bill  was  signed 
"under  protest"  and  whether  goods  have 
been  unpacked  and  inspected;  and  that  fail- 
ure to  send  such  notice  within  two  days  of 
the  receipt  of  the  stock  shall  be  prima  facia 
evidence  of  its  acceptance. 

4.  That  all  reasonable  care,  skill,  and 
despatch  shall  be  used  in  the  unpacking  and 
inspection  of  the  stock. 

5.  That  if  the  stock  shall  appear,  at  the 
time  of  inspection  or  delivery,  to  be  defec- 
tive from  any  cause  other  than  the  fault  of 
the  transportation  agency,  a  complaint  to 
that  effect  shall  be  sent  to  the  shipper,  either 
with  the  notice  of  receipt  of  goods  specified 
under  No.  3  above,  or  within  one  week  there- 
after. Said  complaint  should  specify  ex- 
plicitly the  nature  of  the  defect  or  defects. 

6.  That  in  case  a  complaint  of  defective 
stock  is  thus  made  to  the  nurseryman,  the 
stock  in  question  shall  be  heeled  in  or  other- 
wise properly  protected  from  deterioration, 
and  shall  not  be  destroyed  or  otherwise  dis- 
posed of  until  the  nurseryman  shall  have 
had  reasonable  time  to  state  whether  he 
wishes  to  have  the  stock  jointly  inspected  or 
what  action  he  proposes  to  take  concerning 
the  complaint. 

7.     That  if  the  stock  shall  appear  at  the  time 
of  inspection  upon  delivery  to  be  defective, 
partly   or   wholly  because   of  delay   or   mis- 
handling  while   in   transit,   the   consignee   or 
the  person  placing  the  order  shall  be  respon- 
sible for  making  the  proper  claim  upon  the 
transportation  agency,  the  shipper  being  un- 
der   obligation    to    assist    by    furnishing    any 
information   needful    in   establishing   a   claim 
against  the  transportation  agency. 
C.     In  case  of  stock  ordered  from  a  nursery- 
man   by   a   landscape   architect   as  agent   for   a 
client,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  landscape  architect 
to  use  due   diligence   in   securing  prompt   pay- 
ment of  the  bills  by  the  client  and,  unless  ne- 
gotiations are  pending  with  the  nurseryman  in 
regard  to  counterclaims,  to  make  sure  that  the 
client    is    duly    notified    of    the    nurseryman's 
proper   claim  for  payment   within  a   maximum 
of   sixty   days  after   the   receipt   of  both    stock 
and  bill  for  same. 


116 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


SUGGESTED  FORM   OF  AGREEMENT   BETWEEN   NURSERY   AND  CLIENT. 

TO  BE  USED   BY  LANDSCAPE    ARCHITECT    WHEN    PLACING    NURSERY 

ORDERS   FOR  CLIENTS 


AGREEMENT  BETWEEN 
AND 

IN  CONSIDERATION  of  the  sum  of 

and  of  the  statements  contained  in  the  schedule 
hereinafter   set   forth, , 

hereinafter  called  the  Nursery,  hereby  agrees 
to  furnish  and  deliver  as  directed  all  of  the 
plants  specified  in  the  appended  list,  and  re- 
place, free  of  charge,  any  or  all  of  the  plants 
furnished  which  are  dead,  dying,  or  seriously 
defective  in  vitality,  on  demand  of  the  owner 
or  of  the  Landscape  Architect  representing 
him,  hereinafter  called  his  agent,  upon  the 
following   conditions; 

1st.  That  the  total  contract  price  of  the 
plants  be  paid  thirty  days  after  the  acceptance 
of  said  plants  by  the  owner  or  his  agents,  as 
per  Condition  4. 

2nd.  That  the  replacement  be  made  with 
plants  of  the  same  variety,  size  and  quality, 
and  under  the  same  terms,  conditions  and 
specifications  set  forth  in  the  list  herewith  ap- 
pended. 

3rd.  That  no  plant  shall  be  replaced  more 
than  once. 

4th.     That  this  agreement  shall  be  valid  for 

a  period  of calendar   months  from   the 

date  of  acceptance  by  the  owner  or  his  agent 
of  the  plants  contracted  for.  A  copy  of  said 
letter  of  acceptance  shall  be  appended  to  and 
made  part  of  this  agreement. 

5th.  That  the  acceptance  of  the  plants  con- 
tracted for  shall  not  be  delayed  by  the  owner 
or  his  agent  beyond  thirty  days  after  the  re- 
ceipt of  the  plants. 

6th.  That  the  owner  or  his  agent  shall 
promptly  and  diligently  endeavor  to  ascertain 
whether  damage  to  the  plants  has  been  done 
on  account  of  delays  or  actual  injury  in  trans- 
portation and,  in  case  of  such  damage,  shall 
make  claims  upon  the  responsible  common 
carriers  and  assign  said  claims  to  the  Nursery. 

7th.  By  the  acceptance  of  this  agreement, 
the  Nursery  waives  all  claims  to  refuse  re- 
placement of  plants  on  account  of  their  unfit- 
ness to  stand  climatic,  soil  or  exposure  con- 
ditions of  the  locality  where  transplanted;  or 
on  account  of  alleged  negligence  of  the  owner 


or  his  agent  in  properly  caring  for  and  pro- 
tecting the  plants,  provided  however,  that  the 
Nursery  shall  not  be  held  liable  to  replace 
plants  which  may  be  damaged  or  killed  by  fire, 
inundation  or  earthquake,  or  as  a  result  of 
actionable  damages  by  a  third  party. 

8th.  The  Nursery  shall  have  a  right  to  as- 
certain whether  the  plants  sold  receive,  during 
the  period  of  this  agreement,  the  care  which 
is  indispensible  for  their  growth.  To  this  pur- 
pose the  Nursery  may  notify  the  owner  or  his 
agent  in  writing  of  the  conditions  found  and 
of  the  proper  remedy. 

9th.  In  case  of  controversy  between  the 
Owner  and  the  Nursery  over  matters  pertain- 
ing to  this  agreement,  the  Owner  and  the 
Nursery  shall  request  the  Landscape  Architect 
to  render  a  decision  within  a  reasonable  time. 
If  the  Landscape  .Architect  fails  to  render  a 
decision,  or  if  his  decision  is  not  acceptable  to 
both  the  Owner  and  the  Nursery,  or  to  either 
of  them,  then  an  appeal  to  arbitration  shall  be 
taken.  The  parties  may  agree  upon  one  ar- 
bitrator; otherwise  there  shall  be  three, 
one  named  in  writing  by  each  party,  and  the 
third  chosen  by  these  two  arbitrators  or,  if 
they  fail  to  select  a  third  within  ten  days,  he 
shall  be  chosen  by  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
nearest  Bar  Association.  Should  the  party  de- 
manding arbitration  fail  to  name  an  arbitrator 
within  ten  days  of  his  demand,  his  right  to 
arbitration  shall  lapse.  Should  the  other  party 
fail  to  choose  an  arbitrator  within  such  ten 
days,  the  Landscape  Architect  shall  appoint 
such  arbitrator.  Should  either  party  refuse  or 
neglect  to  supply  the  arbitrators  with  any 
papers  or  information  demanded  in  writing, 
the  arbitrators  are  empowered  by  both  parties 
to  take  ex  parte  proceedings.  The  arbitrators 
shall  act  with  promptness.  The  decision  of 
the  arbitrators  upon  any  question  subject  to 
arbitration  under  this  contract  shall  be  a  con- 
dition precedent  to  any  right  of  legal  action. 
The  arbitrators,  if  they  deem  that  the  case 
demands  it,  are  authorized  to  award  to  the 
party  whose  contention  is  sustained  such  sums 
as  they  shall  deem  proper  for  the  time,  ex- 
pense and  trouble  incident  to  the  appeal,  and 
if  tlie  appeal  was  taken  without  reasonable 
cause,  damages  for  delay.  The  arbitrators 
shall  fix  their  own  compensation  unless  other- 
wise  provided  by  agreement  and   shall   assess 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


117 


the  costs  and  charges  of  the  arbitration  upon 
either  or  both  parties.  The  award  of  the  ar- 
bitrators must  be  in  writing  and,  if  in  writing, 
shall  not  be  open  to  objection  on  account  of 
the  form  of  the  proceedings  or  the  award. 

10th.  Additions  of  similar  planting  material 
to  or  subtractions  from  the  appended  list  of 
plants  contracted  for  may  be  made  during  the 
period   of   this   agreement,    or   this   agreement 


may  be  extended  by  mutual  consent  in  writing 
between  the  Nursery  and  the  Owner  or  his 
agent. 

11th.     The   work   under   this    contract    is   to 
be  completed  not  later  than 

Dated  this day  of 

Witness   

Witness   


-19- 


MEMORANDUM  IN  REG.ARDS  TO  PAYMENT  OF  BILLS  FOR  NURSERY 
STOCKS  ORDERED  BY  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT  FOR  THEIR  CLIENTS 


The  practice  of  many  landscape  architects  of 
withholding  nurserymen's  bills  from  recom- 
mendation for  payment  until  they  have  veri- 
fied the  bills  from  several  different  nursery- 
men for  all  plants  shipped  on  their  orders  to 
a  given  client  throughout  a  whole  planting 
season,  when  taken  in  connection  with  the 
fact  that  the  clients  often  delay  payment  after 
receiving  the  bills  with  the  landscape  archi- 
tect's recommendation  for  payment,  sometimes 
works  serious  financial  hardship  on  the 
nurserymen  and  ought  to  be  kept  within  close 
limits.  Where  the  bills  from  individual 
nurserj-men  are  small  it  maj-  be  reasonable  to 
hold  some  of  them  as  much  as  thirty  days  for 
the  sake  of  sending  in  a  group  of  bills  at  one 
time  to  a  client  for  the  latter's  convenience; 
but  in  no  case  is  it  good  practice  to  hold  any 
bill  in  this  manner  for  more  than  a  month 
after  the  receipt  of  goods  and  bill. 

Landscape  Architects  ordering  plants  from 
nurserymen  for  clients  are  recommended  by 
the  American  Society  of  Landscape  Archi- 
tects to  follow  the  practice  (unless  negotia- 
tions arc  pending  with  the  nurseryman  in  re- 
gard to  a  counterclaim!  of  issuing  as  soon  as 
practicable  and  in  any  case  within  60  days  af- 
ter the  receipt  of  both  bill  and  goods  from 
the  nurseryman,  a  certificate  of  payment  due, 
as  in  the  case  of  certificates  of  payment  due 
contractors,  sending  copies  both  to  the  client 
and  to  the  nurseryman.  In  any  case,  the  land- 
scape architect  should  notify  the  nurseryman 
promptlj-  by  some  means,  as   soon   as   he   has 


verified  the  bill  and  recommended  the  client 
to  make  payment.  In  the  opinion  of  the 
American  Society  of  Landscape  Archi- 
tects, there  is  no  reason  why  the  nursery- 
man, after  the  receipt  of  such  notice  and  after 
informing  the  landscape  architect  of  his  inten- 
tion and  given  opportunity  for  reply  in  case 
there  is  special  ground  for  objection,  should 
not  address  himself  directly  to  the  client  with 
regard  to  payment  of  the  account.  Further- 
more, if  the  landscape  architect  should  delay 
sending  such  notice  to  the  nurseryman  for 
more  than  sixty  days  after  the  receipt  of  both 
bill  and  stock  from  the  nurseryman  (unless  in 
the  interval  he  shall  have  requested  the 
nurseryman  to  agree  to  an  adjustment  of  the 
bill  on  account  of  error  in  the  bill  or  defect 
in  the  shipment)  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects  recognizes  that  the  nurs- 
eryman may  properly  notif)'  the  client  direct, 
after  notifying  the  landscape  architect  of  his 
intention  and  giving  reasonable  time  for  reply, 
that  the  bill  has  been  sent  the  landscape  archi- 
tect for  verification  and  that  payment  is  over- 
due. 

For  the  protection,  both  of  the  landscape 
architect  and  the  nurseryman,  from  possible 
misunderstanding  on  the  part  of  the  client,  the 
.*\nierican  Society  of  Landscape  Architects 
recognizes  it  is  entirely  proper  that  a  nurs- 
eryman, \v!ien  accepting  a  large  order  from  a 
Landscape  Architect  on  account  of  a  client, 
should  send  a  copy  of  the  acceptance  direct  to 
the  client  so  as  to  put  the  latter  on  notice. 


118 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT  OF  THE  COMMITTEE 
ON  COMPETITIONS,  1916 


February  6,    1917. 
James  Sturgis  Pray,  Esq.. 
50  Garden  Street,   Cambridge.  Massachusetts. 

Dear  Sir: — I  wish  to  submit  herewith  a  pre- 
liminary report  of  the  Committee  on  Com- 
petitions of  which  1  have  the  honor  of  being 
chairman. 

1st.  It  seems  to  be  the  opinion  of  the  ma- 
jority of  this  committee  that  competitions  for 
the  purpose  of  selecting  a  finished  design 
should  be  discouraged  because  of  the  difficulty 
of  representing  the  complex  elements  of  land- 
scape design  in  graphic  form, — also  because 
the  designers  do  not  have  the  opportunity  to 
confer  with  the  owners  in  order  to  gain  a 
clear  idea  of  the  nature  of  the  problem,  but 
must  rely  upon  the  data  of  a  program  gen- 
erally too  vague  to  allow  unity  of  interpreta- 
tion and  effort  on  the  part  of  the  competitors. 

2nd.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  majority  of  the 
committee  that  competitions  for  the  selection 
of  a  designer  through  the  presentation  of  de- 
signs for  a  specific  problem  are  preferable  to 
the  former,  but  that  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  should 
not  encourage  them.  Since  competitions  of 
this  sort  arc  frequently  unavoidable,  especially 
in  case  of  public  undertakings,  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 
should  do  what  it  can  in  order  to  produce  a 
better  attitude  on  the  part  of  the  public  and 
to  offset  the  disposition  of  laymen  to  ignore 
or  greatly  under-rate  the  degree  of  importance 
in  the  final  results  of  all  the  professional  ser- 
vices which  follow  the  first  expression  of  the 
main  conception  of  a  design  in  the  form  of 
drawings.  In  other  words,  before  a  competi- 
tor is  admitted  to  the  competition  the  pro- 
motors  of  a  competition  for  the  selection  of  a 
designer  should  satisfy  themselves  as  to  the 
ability  of  each  competitor  to  execute  the  work 
successfully,  as  shown  by  previous  work. 

3rd.  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  members  of 
the  committee  that  since  competitions  must  be 
held  the  least  objectionable  form  of  competi- 
tion is  for  the  sake  of  securing  ideas  from  one 
or  more  of  the  competitors,  provided  such 
ideas  are  obtained  through  reports  and  rough 
sketches  and  not  through   elaborate  drawings. 

4th.  Since  competitions  cannot  be  prevent- 
ed, it  seems  logical  that  the  .X.  S.  L.  A.  should 
endeavor: 


(A)  To  publish  a  statement  for  the  use  of 
the  public  embodying  a  concise  criticism  of 
the  several  forms  of  competition  and  a  sug- 
gestion as  to  the  most  advantageous  form  in 
which  to  conduct  competitions. 

(B)  To  establish  a  set  of  rules  under  which 
it  is  assumed  that  members  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 
may  fairlj'  enter  into  competitions,  discourag- 
ing at  the  same  time  these  members  from 
taking  part  in  competitions  not  conducted  in 
accordance  with  such  rules. 

These  rules,  in  so  far  as  they  regard  the 
public  should  cover: 

a — The  employment  of  a  professional  ad- 
viser. 

b — The  selection  of  a  jury  of  award. 

c — The  qualifications   of  the   competitors. 

d — The  form  of  competition. 

e — The  nature  of  the  program. 

f — The  nature  of  the  drawings. 

g — -The  anonymity  of  the  competitors. 

h — The  statement  of  cost  of  proposed  work. 

i — The  nature  of  agreement  between  the 
promoters  and  the  successful  competitors. 

j — The  fee  due  to  unsuccessful  competitors. 

k — The  conduct  of  the  promoters  of  the 
competition. 

In  so  far  as  they  regard  the  members  of  the 
A.  S.  L.  A.  the  rules  should: 

(A)  Assert  the  inadvisability  to  take  part 
in  competitions  which  are  not  conducted  in 
accordance  with  the  above. 

(B)  Prohibit  to  attempt  in  any  way  except 
as  a  competitor  to  secure  work  for  which  a 
competition  is  in  progress. 

(C)  Prohibit  to  attempt  to  influence  direct- 
ly or  indirectly  the  award  in  a  competition  in 
which  he  is  a  competitor. 

(D)  Prohibit  the  acceptance  of  a  commis- 
sion to  do  the  work  for  which  a  competition 
has  been  instituted  if  he  has  acted  in  an  ad- 
visory capacity. 

(E)  Prohibit  the  submission  of  a  design 
which  was  not  entirely  made  in  his  own  office 
under  his  own  supervision,  or  in  case  of  col- 
laboration if  the  names  of  the  collaborators 
are  not  given. 

Respectfully   submitted. 
(Signed)  FERRUCCIO  VITALE, 

Chairman. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITF.CTS 


119 


STATEMENT  REGARDING  MEDAL  AWARDED  BY  THE 
ARCHITECTURAL  LEAGUE  OF  NEW  YORK 


The  Architectural  League  of  New  York  has 
for  some  years  past  held  yearly  exhibitions 
covering  the  work  of  Architects,  Landscape 
Architects,  Painters  and  Sculptors.  In  1909 
the  League  established  a  medal  for  Painting 
and  Sculpture,  in  1915  a  medal  for  Architec- 
ture and  in  1919  a  medal  for  Landscape  Archi- 
tecture and  offers  these  medals  annually.  They 
are  intended  to  encourage  the  submission  of 
works  of  merit,  to  raise  thereby  the  standards 
of  the  League's  exhibition  and  are  awarded 
only  after  recognized  superiority  in  work 
actually  submitted  and  hung. 

Works  of  Architecture  and  Landscape  Archi- 
tecture to  be  eligible  for  an  award  must  be 
adequately  presented  by  means  of  drawings, 
photographs  or  models  of  executed  work.  The 
jury  may  request  the  submission  of  such  ad- 
ditional data  on  any  work  as  might  assist  them 
in  making  the  award. 

If,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Jury,  the  work  sub- 
mitted in  either  Architecture,  Painting,  Sculp- 
ture or  Landscape  Architecture,  is  not  of 
sufficient  merit  to  justify  an  award,  no  award 
shall  be  made. 

The  Jury  of  award  shall  be  thirteen  in  num- 
ber,   of    which    the    President    of    the    League 


shall  be  ex-officio  Chairman.  The  Executive 
Committee  shall  appoint  three  Architects, 
three  Painters  and  three  Sculptors,  and  three 
Landscape  Architects  from  the  nominations 
made  by  the  New  York  Chapter  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Architects,  the  Society  of 
Mural  Painters,  the  National  Sculpture  Society 
and  the  American  Society  of  Landscape  Archi- 
tects, respectively.  These  appointments  to  be 
made  in  the  month  of  October  preceding  the 
exhibition.  All  members  of  the  Jury  of  Award 
shall  be  hers  concoiirs  for  the  awards  made 
by  such  Jury.  The  deliberations  of  the  Jury 
shall  be  strictly  private  and  its  decision  shall 
be  reported  to  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  League  before  the  exhibition  is  opened  to 
the  public. 

In  case  the  Medal  in  either  of  the  four  arts 
is  awarded  to  two  or  more  joint  authors  of 
the  work,  a  copy  shall  be  struck  for  each. 

The  Medal  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  cer- 
tificate setting  forth  the  name  of  the  completed 
work  which  formed  the  basis  of  the  award, 
together  with  the  considerations  which,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  Jury,  characterize  the  work  as 
worthy  of  this  distinction. 


120 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


REPORT  OF  THE  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE 


TO  CO-OPERATE  WITH  THE  COMITE  NEERLANDO-BELGE  D'ART  CIVIQUE* 


This  Committee  was  formed  during  the  war 
with  the  hope  that  in  various  ways  American 
Landscape  Architects  and  City  Planners  would 
be  able  to  help  the  Comite  Neerlando-Belge 
d'Art  Civique  in  its  efforts  towards  higher 
standards  in  City  Planning  and  Civic  Art. 
Prior  to  the  present  Chairman's  visit  in  1920, 
our  efforts  had  consisted  mainly  in  the  for- 
warding by  Professor  Pray,  of  the  Harvard 
University  School  of  Landscape  Architecture 
and  City  Planning,  of  a  large  amount  of  val- 
uable data,  plans,  pamphlets  and  so  on,  some 
of  which  were  unfortunately  lost  in  transit. 
All  the  material  that  was  received,  however, 
was  sincerely  appreciated  and  put  to  good  use. 
The  Comite  Neerlando-Belge  d'Art  Civique, 
its  moving  spirit  the  well  known  Belgian  Town 
Planner,  Mr.  Louis  Vander  Swaelmen,  is  now 
practically  disbanded,  its  efforts  being  di- 
rected into  various  channels,  several  of  which 
are  outlined  in  the  report. 

The  more  recent  activities  of  our  Commit- 
tee center  about  visits  which  the  present 
Chairman  was  privileged  to  make  during  the 
summers  of  1920  and  1921,  not  only  in  Bel- 
gium, but  Holland,  England,  France  and  Ger- 
many. The  first  of  these  was  undertaken  as 
a  result  of  correspondence  between  our  for- 
mer Chairman,  Professor  Pray,  and  Dr.  Rene 
Sand  of  Brussels,  a  member  of  the  Belgian 
Industrial  Commission  that  visited  this  coun- 
try in  1917.  There  followed  a  very  cordial 
but  of  course  unofficial  invitation  on  the  part 
of  Dr.  Sand  to  your  Chairman,  to  come  over 
and  help. 

General  conditions  in  Belgium  in  1920  were 
depressing,  for  while  many  most  important 
and  far  reaching  plans  for  reconstruction  had 
been  prepared  and  much  work  had  been  start- 
ed, there  was  little  to  show  for  it  all,  and  to 
make  matters  worse,  the  finances  of  the  na- 
tion were  in  a  most  unfortunate  state,  for  it 
must  be  remembered  that  during  the  "occupa- 
tion," German  officials  went  to  every  bank  in 
Belgium,  particularly  of  course  to  the  Bank 
of    Belgium    in    Brussels    and    demanded    their 


gold.  On  its  face  this  was  made  a  business 
transaction  and  as  security  for  the  loan  there 
were  deposited  German  paper  marks,  over 
two  billion  of  them,  but  every  pennyweight  of 
gold  was  taken  and  the  country  left  absolute- 
ly without  a  gold  reserve,  which  means  of 
course  without  credit.  No  other  country,  as 
far  as  the  writer  knows,  suffered  this  sort  of 
loss.  Those  who  are  best  informed  were  hope- 
ful that  some  means  would  be  found  of 
settling  this  particular  claim  against  Germany 
first  and  before  the  matter  of  reparations.  It 
is  in  fact  very  distinctively  a  separate  transac- 
tion— was  made  so  by  the  Germans  themselves 
— a  business  loan  for  which  the  Government 
was  offered  and  forced  to  take  almost  worth- 
less paper. 

First  came  the  question  of  lodging  or  living 
quarters  for  those  many  thousands  whose 
homes  were  completely  or  quite  completely 
destroyed.  Something, — the  best  thing  pos- 
sible under  the  circumstances,  had  to  be  done 
at  once.  This  included,  first  of  all,  a  very 
thoroughly  worked  out  scheme  of  quartering 
or  lodging  just  as  many  as  possible  of  the  re- 
turning citizens  and  their  families,  in  the 
homes  of  those  in  the  vicinity  whose  houses 
were   not   destroyed. 

Much  helpful  service  was  rendered  by  the 
so-called  "Federation  of  Co-operatives."  These 
privately  organized  and  financed  co-operative 
building  societies  e.xist  now  in  all  countries, 
are  very  active  in  England  and  France  and 
here  in  Belgium  there  are  more  than  300  of 
them  and  27  of  these  have  rebuilt  or  restored 
since  the  war  3,124  buildings.  This  Federa- 
tion of  Co-operatives  functions  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  who 
thoroughly  understands  that  official  interven- 
tion will  be  entirely  incapable  of  executing  the 
immense  task  which  is  before  the  country,  if 
it  is  not  supplemented  by  private  initiative. 
As  a  result  of  these  efforts,  during  the  month 
of  August  1920,  2,364  loans  had  been  made  and 
in  September  3,000, — the  number  constantly 
increasing.      The    "Federation"    has    organized 


^Prepared  by  Stephen  Child,  Chairman. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


121 


a  service  of  inspection,  furnishes  superintend- 
ents of  work  and  helps  in  the  preparation  of 
plans  and  estimates,  as  well  as  supervises  the 
management  of  the  various  local  societies. 
The  work  of  the  officers  of  the  "Federation" 
is  gratuitous  and  extremely  meritorious  and 
the  results  obtained  are  important. 

As  to  soil  restoration  this  was  proceeding 
under  direction  of  experts  from  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  in  part  directly  at 
the  expense  of  this  Department,  but  in  part 
also,  and  with  good  results,  by  contracts  with 
the  owners  or  tenants,  care  being  taken  in  the 
form  of  contract  that  dishonest  schemers 
should  not  enrich  themselves  at  the  expense 
of  the  public   treasury. 

A  very  effective  instrument  in  all  this  great 
problem  of  reconstruction  has  been  the  "Local 
Consultation  Committee"  which  has  been 
formed  in  each  community.  The  Department 
of  the  Interior  worked  out  a  very  interesting 
form  of  procedure  for  such  Committees,  how 
they  are  to  be  constituted,  where  and  when 
they  should  meet,  what  subjects  they  should 
consider  and  the  form  of  report  they  should 
make  and  with  whom  they  should  file  these  in 
in  order  to  get  best  results.  One  notes,  for 
example,  the  following  interesting  regulation. 
"The  Committee  may  divide  itself  also  into 
three  sections,  the  members  and  their  colla- 
borators to  be  designated  by  the  main  Com- 
mittee at  a  preliminary  meeting.  The  first 
section"  (and  this  is  worthy  of  comment)  "to 
have  as  its  particular  duty  the  examination  of 
all  propositions  of  an  aesthetic  order,  the 
second,  those  of  an  economic  order  and  the 
third,  those  that  concern  the  health  of  the 
town."  When  the  cities  of  San  Francisco, 
Chicago,  or  Boston,  were  devastated  by  fire, 
did  any  one  of  their  general  consulting  com- 
mittees divide  along  any  such  lines,  putting 
aesthetics  first?     It  is  to  be  doubted. 

Agricultural  conditions  in  the  devastated 
regions  seemed  at  this  time  to  be  almost  hope- 
less, but  these  have  been  described  by  the 
writer  at  some  length  in  an  article  in  Land- 
scape Architecture  Quarterly  for  January  1921. 
entitled  "Some  Impressions  of  a  Two  Months' 
Visit  in  Belgium,"  and  no  further  reference 
need  be  made  to  them  here. 

Town  Planning  in  any  comprehensive  sense 
of  the  term  was  at  a  very  low  ebb  in  1920 — in 
fact  the  writer  was  assured  by  one  of  their 
most  brilliant  but  bitterly  disappointed  prac- 
titioners of  this  fundamentally  important  art, 
that  it  was  dead.  It  was  certainly  dormant  and 
in  the  meantime  golden  opportunities  for  civic 


betterment  are  being  apparently  irreparably 
lost.  The  story  of  London  and  San  Francisco 
after  their  devastating  fires  is  repeating  itself 
in  many  a  Belgian  town  and  it  is  a  great  pity. 

Returning  to  Belgium  in  1921,  it  was  found 
that  rapid  and  most  encouraging  progress  had 
been  made  during  the  year.  This  has  been 
most  noticeable  in  connection  with  the  re- 
habilitation of  the  farms  and  general  agricul- 
tural conditions  and  next  in  the  rebuilding  of 
factories  and  shops.  The  actual  reconstruc- 
tion of  new  houses  and  homes,  however,  has 
proceeded  more  slowly,  but  this  work  is  now 
getting  into  a  more  rapid  swing.  There  has 
also  been  a  very  marked  activity  in  the  re- 
construction  of  destroyed   churches. 

Farms  and  agricultural  conditions  in  this 
regard,  as  mentioned  above,  seemed  particular- 
ly hopeless  and  discouraging  in  1920.  It  is 
therefore  a  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  report 
the  most  remarkable  progress  in  this  direction. 
First,  of  course,  large  gangs  were  put  to  work 
clearing  and  repairing  roads.  Miles  and  miles 
of  the  barbed  wire  of  the  entanglement  were 
rolled  up;  a  difficult  job,  and  these  great  rolls 
six  or  eight  feet  in  diameter  now  decorate  the 
roadside.  While  a  small  amount  of  this  wire 
has  been  used  for  fencing,  most  of  it  is  so 
twisted  and  tangled  that  it  can  be  put  to  no 
use,  and  must  be  permitted  to  rust  away  into 
the  soil. 

Another  work  requiring  much  time  and 
patient  care,  was  the  excavation  and  removal 
of  shells  and  other  munitions.  As  many  as 
three  or  four  shells  to  the  square  meter  were 
found  in  some  of  the  more  fiercely  contested 
areas,  in  the  vicinity  of  Dixmude  and  Ypres, 
for  example.  Here,  too,  were  many  concrete 
emplacements  of  the  big  guns,  both  German 
and  Allied,  and  while  effort  to  dynamite  and 
remove  these  was  at  first  made,  the  cost  was 
so  great  that  this  has  been  given  up,  and  they 
stand  today  scattered  about, — a  grim  monu- 
ment to  the  efficiency  of  war  construction. 
Water  supply  for  these  returned  rural  dwellers 
was  a  distinct  problem  and  most  of  the  old 
wells  having  been  filled  or  contaminated,  a 
special  service  of  well  drivers  was  inaugurated 
and  each  household  provided  with  a  driven 
well;  these  were  put  down  as  rapidly  as  ten 
a  week. 

This  and  other  like  work  took  up  most  of 
1919.  But  in  the  meantime  nature  was  not 
idle,  for  weeds  did  not  stop  growing,  and  dur- 
ing my  visit  in  1920  these  seemed  to  be  the 
only  crop.  Such  a  problem  did  their  removal 
become  that  herds  of  goats  were  set  to  work 


122 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


during  the  summer  and  fall  of  that  year  with 
excellent  results. 

One  really  very  helpful  feature  of  the 
Treaty  of  Versailles  and  subsequent  negotia- 
tions, was  the  provision  that  as  a  part  of  the 
indemnity  German  agricultural  machinery 
should  be  furnished  to  these  people.  This  be- 
gan to  arrive  in  quantity  in  the  fall  of  1930. 
Little  of  it  was  self-propelling,  however,  and 
even  if  it  had  been  the  current  price  of  gaso- 
line (about  90c  per  gallon  in  American  money) 
was  almost  prohibitive.  The  early  spring  of 
1921  saw  this  equipment  all  busily  engaged, 
horse-drawn  if  the  owner  was  lucky, — other- 
wise cows,  goats,  dogs  and  many,  many  times 
men  and  women  were  the  motive  power.  And 
the  result  of  it  all  is  that  in  October  1921  four- 
fifths  of  that  great  devastated  region,  the  No- 
Man's  Land  of  the  war,  was  producing  a  crop 
of  some  kind  or  other. 

Along  with  the  above  went  the  rebuilding 
and  refitting  of  factories  and  shops,  and  as,  of 
course,  most  of  them  were  near  towns  and 
railroads,  good  progress  is  shown.  While 
some  of  the  methods  employed  in  rebuilding 
and  restoring  damaged  homes  and  other  build- 
ings, have  been  mentioned,  the  actual  con- 
struction of  new  homes  came  in  various  ways, 
— first  the  distinctly  temporary  structures, 
largely  what  we  would  call  portable  houses  of 
several  types  built  under  what  is  known  as 
the  "Roi  Albert  Fondation" — the  King  its 
sponsor  and  a  liberal  contributor  to  its  funds. 
Thousands  of  these  houses  were  built  in  1919 
and  1920,  for  the  most  part  in  or  near  de- 
stroyed towns  and  villages,  and  by  far  the 
larger  part  of  them  are  still  occupied.  Then 
came  the  better  housing  work  of  the  Office  des 
Regions  Devastees,  (O.  R.  D.  as  it  is  called) 
under  the  Ministry  of  Economic  Affairs.  A 
type  of  "semi-permanent"  structure  has  been 
developed  by  this  Office:  practically  a  half- 
timbered  house.  So  skillfully  prepared  were 
the  plans  that  all  the  material  (framing,  doors, 
windows,  brick,  cement,  etc.)  in  exactly  right 
quantity  is  delivered  promptly  to  those  making 
proper  requisition  and  by  following  directions 
accompanying  the  plans  two  men  can  in  a  few 
days  build  a  very  presentable  and  very  com- 
fortable home,  and  hundreds  of  these  have 
been  built  in  this  way.  Now,  however,  to  meet 
urgent  demands,  the  Government  through  the 
O.  R.  D.  is  building  groups  of  these  near  the 
larger  destroyed  towns — over  300  at  Ypres  for 
example  and  many  at  Menin,  Commines,  Pop- 
peringe  and  Dixmude. 

The  O.  R.  D.  in  co-operation  with  the  Min- 


istry of  Agriculture  instituted  a  competition 
among  Belgian  architects  for  plans  for  various 
types  of  Model  Farmstead  Groups, — house, 
barn,  granary  and  other  out-buildings,  and 
some  particularly  delightful  and  attractive 
plans  were  submitted.  The  best  of  these  are 
now  being  executed  for  the  more  prosperous 
farm  owners,  with  the  result  that  there  are 
springing  up  all  over  the  agricultural  area 
many  such  homestead  groups,  varied  to  suit 
not  only  the  needs  of  each  type  of  farmer,  but 
to  be  in  harmony  with  local  pre-war  architec- 
ture, and  of  course  doing  away  with  pre-war 
defects,  unsanitary  conditions  and  so  on. 

The  result  of  all  this  housing  activity  is  that 
if  the  present  programs  of  these  various  or- 
ganizations continue,  by  the  fall  of  1923  every 
family  who  lost  a  home  in  the  war  will  be  re- 
housed either  in  the  more  permanent  or  semi- 
permanent type  of  home. 

Literally  hundreds  of  churches  large  and 
small  were  either  completely  or  partially  de- 
stroyed. In  every  town  of  the  devastated 
region,  no  matter  what  else  was  spared,  it  was 
never  a  church.  Their  towers  and  belfries 
were  indeed  a  "shining  mark.'"  The  figures 
for  West  Flanders  alone  were  250  churches, 
300  schools,  and  16  convents  either  totally  or 
partially  destroyed.  Now,  however,  much 
church  reconstruction  is  going  on.  It  is  a 
question  whether  all  of  it  is  good  judgment,  to 
say  nothing  of  good  taste,  and  whether  if, 
(as  is  quite  general)  temporary  schools  are 
sufficiently  good,  why  temporary  chapels 
might  not  suffice  for  a  time  until  better  homes 
were  built;  whether,  in  fact,  it  is  wise  for  a 
nation  as  heavily  burdened  with  debts  and 
disbursements  as  little  Belgium,  to  add  to 
these   expensive  church   construction. 

As  to  Town  Planning — the  subject  in  which 
most  of  us  are  so  vitally  interested,  which,  no 
doubt,  should  precede  housing, — very  little  of 
this  has  been  done,  and  in  view  of  the  pro- 
gressive "arret  loi"  of  August,  1915,  passed 
during  the  war,  this  is  particularly  disappoint- 
ing. Almost  no  comprehensive  studies  or  sur- 
veys have  been  made  for  the  destroyed  towns. 
And  the  little  that  has  been  done  in  the  way 
of  planning  has  been  undertaken  by  local  en- 
gineers and  consists  mainly  in  laying  down 
lines  in  red  ink  on  older  maps  indicating  more 
or  less  vaguely  the  modifications  proposed  in 
the  alignment  of  streets,  "as  if  the  problem  of 
reconstruction  was  nothing  else  than  the  prob- 
lem of  highways."  Furthermore,  the  Central 
Commission,  to  whom  under  the  above-men- 
tioned law  all  plans  were  to  be  submitted,  is 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


123 


in  fact  nothing  more  than  a  revamped  art 
commission,  ill-prepared,  through  training  or 
experience  to  pass  intelligently  upon  such 
plans  as  are  submitted.  There  have  been  some 
extremely  disheartening  examples  of  blundering 
ahead  with  ill-prepared  plans  and  in  the  case 
of  Ypres  and  Termonde  for  example,  of  doing 
the  short-sighted  thing  in  the  face  of  excellent 
plans  prepared  under  the  direction  of  the 
Union  des  Villes  et  Communes  Beiges.  But 
it  is  possible  there  has  been  too  great  optimism 
and  too  little  realization  of  the  gross  darkness, 
not  to  say  ignorance,  of  masses  of  the  Belgian 
people,  particularly  perhaps,  in  regard  to  this 
great  subject  of  town  planning.  For  it  is  to  be 
remembered  that  with  all  their  industry,  thrift, 
and  other  admirable  characteristics,  a  great 
many  of  them,  unfortunately,  can  neither  read 
nor  write.  To  have  secured  the  sort  of  re- 
sults desired,  the  leaders  in  the  town-planning 
movement  in  Belgium  must  needs  have  been 
born  25  years  earlier  and  to  have  been  con- 
ducting a  propaganda  campaign  on  the  subject 
all  these  years. 

The  little  that  has  been  done  in  the  way  of 
good  town-planning  is  the  recent  work  of  the 
able  leaders  in  this  profession  in  Belgium: 
what  we  would  call  new  subdivisions  of  areas 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  destroyed  and  other 
towns;  plans  prepared  either  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  O.  R.  D.  or  the  S.  H.  A.  B.  M. 
Some  of  the  best  of  these  are  at  or  near  Rou- 
lers,  Ypres,  Dixmude,  Ghent  and  Antwerp. 
The  leaders  in  the  town-planning  movement 
while  somewhat  heartened  by  these  signs  of 
progress  are  really  very  much  discouraged 
about  the  conditions  in  the  central  portions  of 
the  older  towns  where,  as  has  been  said,  the 
story  of  London  and  San  Francisco  after  their 
devastating  fires,  is  most  unhappily  repeating 
itself.  Much  is  to  be  expected,  however,  from 
the  enthusiasm  and  activities  of  the  Societe  des 
Urbanistes  Beiges  of  which  the  eminent  Bel- 
gian Architect  Victor  Horta  is  President  and 
our  good  friend  Mr.  Louis  Van  Der  Swaelmen, 
Secretary. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  Senator  Vinck,  the 
Director  of  the  Union  Internationale  des  Villes 
and  also  the  President  of  the  S.  H.  A.  B.  M., 
it  was  arranged  that  the  technical  division  of 
this  latter  organization,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
O.  R.  D.,  would  call  upon  your  Chairman  for 
suggestions  in  regard  to  any  problems  having 
special  reference  to  town-planning.  It  hap- 
pened, however,  that  in  the  case  of  the  first 
of  these,  a  large  part  of  their  structures  are 
erected  on  streets  already  built  or  laid  out  and 


accepted,  and  that  therefore  there  is  very  little 
town-planning  design  and  that  as  to  the  O.  R. 
D.  most  of  their  town-planning  plans  had 
been  prepared.  Furthermore,  the  topography 
is  in  most  instances  quite  level  and  their  prob- 
lems are  relatively  simple.  Nevertheless  your 
representative  was  privileged  to  inspect  all  the 
plans  of  these  organizations  and  to  accom- 
pany representatives  of  their  technical  divi- 
sions on  trips  of  investigation  and  inspection, 
during  the  course  of  which  he  was  able  to  give 
a  few  suggestions  from  an  American  point  of 
view,  which  it  is  hoped  may  have  been  help- 
ful. The  by-product  to  your  representative  in 
interesting  data  and  information  acquired  has 
been  most  important.  Apropos  of  all  this, 
your  Chairman  has  many  photographs  and 
plans  of  both  these  S.  H.  A.  B.  M.  houses  and 
of  those  erected  by  the  O.  R.  D.,  also  of  their 
street  layout  plans  which  he  would  be  very 
glad  to  show  to  interested  members. 

"Union  Internationale  des  Villes"  and  its 
Centre  of  Civic  Documentation — an  Interna- 
tional Clearing  House  of  Civic  Information: — 
Your  representative  was  present  in  1920  at  the 
intensely  interesting  meetings  during  which 
this  organization  was,  so  to  speak,  re-born, 
for  it  really  took  shape  first  in  the  Interna- 
tional Congress  of  Cities  held  in  Ghent  in 
1913.  Its  name,  however,  as  given  above, 
does  not  fully  express  its  function  for  it  is  the 
main  purpose  of  this  organization  to  collect 
and  study  contemporaneous  documentary  in- 
formation of  all  kinds  relating  to  civic  affairs, 
to  supplement  this  research  work  by  the  pre- 
paration of  briefs  or  short  reviews  and  to  dis- 
tribute promptly  these  results  throughout  the 
world.  This  work  therefore  is  of  very  evident 
social  interest  for  social  progress  elaborates 
itself  and  becomes  realized  in  large  part 
through  the  influence  of  cities. 

As  befits  an  association  that  is  rapidly  be- 
coming world-wide  in  its  scope,  the  details  of 
the  organization  are  varied  to  suit  the  peculiar 
conditions  of  the  different  nations  interested. 
In  France  and  Belgium,  for  example,  there 
have  been  formed  subsidiary  National  Unions 
of  Cities,  and  the  municipalities  of  each  Na- 
tion join  the  movement  officially  by  subscrib- 
ing to  their  National  Union  a  fee  depending 
upon  the  population  of  the  town,  agreeing 
also  to  contribute  to  their  National  Union  all 
important  data  and  published  documentation 
in  regard  to  their  own  local  conditions.  The 
National  Union  by  its  agreements  with  the 
International  Union,  not  only  turns  over  a 
fixed   proportion   of   its   fees   toward   the   sup- 


124 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


port  of  the  main  office  at  Brussels  but  agrees 
to  do  a  certain  amount  of  documentary  re- 
search work  for  the  benefit  of  the  entire  or- 
ganization. By  this  means  none  of  the  cities 
and  towns  is  affiliated  directly  with  the  In- 
ternational Union  but  with  their  National 
Union.  In  Holland  a  National  Union  func- 
tions for  most  of  its  towns  and  co-operates  in 
regard  to  documentary  research  with  the  In- 
ternational Centre,  but  certain  of  its  larger 
cities  affiliate  directly  with  the  International 
Union.  Then  it  is  arranged  in  certain  coun- 
tries where  there  would  perhaps  not  be  any 
good  reason  for  some  time  for  a  subsidiary 
National  Centre,  that  cities  and  civic  organiza- 
tions or  societies  may  join  the  central  or- 
ganization direct,  subscribing  a  fee  depending 
upon  the  population  or  special  conditions  and 
agreeing  also  to  furnish  the  central  office  at 
Brussels  with  documentary  data  in  regard  to 
their  own  and  nearby  conditions. 

A  fourth  method  permits  the  establishment 
of  a  subsidiary  National  Centre  of  Civic  Doc- 
umentation by  a  National  Government — such  a 
"Centre"  to  be  affiliated  with  the  International 
Centre  at  Brussels,  paying  thereto  a  fee  de- 
pending upon  the  circumstances  in  each  case; 
receiving  therefrom  its  invaluable  civic  infor- 
mation and  contributing  thereto,  as  in  the  case 
of  France  and  elsewhere,  a  certain  amount  of 
documentary  research  work  for  the  benefit  of 
the  entire  organization.  Such  a  subsidiary 
National  Centre  then  distributes  the  material 
received  to  all  interested  cities,  towns  and 
civic  organizations,  wherever  it  will  do  the 
most  good.  It  is  believed  that  under  some 
adaptation  of  this  arrangement  America  can 
perhaps  be  best  served;  its  progressive  com- 
munities and  civic  organizations  receiving  in 
this  manner  the  important  data  in  regard  to 
world-wide  conditions  which  they  so  greatly 
need  and  for  which  some  of  these  now  pay 
large  sums  of  money,  the  expense  of  investi- 
gating committees.  Specialists,  experts  and 
savants,  who  by  their  functions,  duties  or 
studies  are  interested  in  any  of  the  many 
branches  of  civic  endeavor,  also  civic  organiza- 
tions or  societies,  are  permitted  to  join  the 
central  organization  directly,  paying  a  nom- 
inal fee  depending  upon  conditions  and  agree- 
ing also  to  contribute  documentary  data,  par- 
ticularly, of  course,  in  regard  to  their  own  work. 

These  units,  varying  as  we  see  from  Nation, 
to  individual,  all  function  together  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Central  Office,  and  its  Tech- 
nical Department  has  worked  out  with  in- 
finite care  the  details  that  will   enable  the  or- 


ganization to  collect  properly,  examine,  sift, 
co-ordinate  and  digest  or  condense  all  this 
contemporaneous  material  in  regard  to  civic 
affairs  and  then  make  it  promptly  available 
and  useful  to  the  world — for  it  cannot  be  too 
strongly  emphasized  that  it  is  up-to-date,  re- 
cent and  forward-looking  material  that  it  is 
proposed  to  present,  not  passe  or  discarded 
data.  It  must  be  very  evident  to  all  that  no 
separate  city  or  National  Government  or  any 
private  organization  could  possibly  prepare  and 
distribute  a  similar  amount  of  data  of  prac- 
tical utility  or  comprehensiveness,  and  such 
administrative  entities  are  realizing  this  more 
and  more  and  the  necessity  therefore  of  creat- 
ing and  supporting  a  central  international  or- 
ganization that  will  accomplish  for  one  and 
all  the  task  of  collecting,  analyzing  and  dif- 
fusing such  data.  This  data  is  now  being  dis- 
seminated by  means  of  a  series  of  pamphlets 
containing  brief  reviews  of  Contemporaneous 
Municipal  Documentation  and  these  notes  or 
summaries  are  printed  on  one  side  only  of  the 
page,  permitting  members  to  cut  them  out  and 
mount  them  on  cards  assembling  and  classify- 
ing the  items  as  they  arrive  month  by  month. 
These  "Note  Books"  serve  as  the  necessary 
intermediary  between  the  central  collections 
and  the  administrative  organizations,  for 
whose  use  all  the  various  collections  arc  des- 
tined, and  permit  all  who  are  interested  to  fol- 
low in  an  abridged  and  condensed  form  the 
broad  and  intense  movement  of  municipal  ac- 
tivities that  the  literature  of  civilized  coun- 
tries reveals. 

The  pamphlets  or  Notebooks  ("Tablettes" 
they  call  them)  containing  the  brief  reviews  of 
contemporaneous  Municipal  Documentation 
above  alluded  to,  are  at  present  published  only 
in  French  but  it  is  realized  that  for  America, 
England  and  her  Colonies  (Canada  and  Aus- 
tralia are  showing  a  marked  interest)  there 
must  be  an  English  edition.  Therefore  your 
representative  was  soon  pressed  into  this  ser- 
vice and  translated  into  English  not  only  the 
first  of  the  Notebooks,  the  so-called  "Editorial 
Notes,"  that  outline  the  Organization's  pro- 
gramme and  methods  of  work,  but  also  the 
two  recently  issued  on  "Urbanism,"  City 
Planning.  It  was  most  interesting  work,  and 
as  an  important  by-product  familiarized  your 
representative  not  only  with  the  details  of 
this  Organization  but  with  recent  European 
Literature  on   City   Planning. 

But  an  even  more  important  and  interest- 
ing work  was  the  preparation  in  co-operation 
with     Senator     Vinck,     the     Director     of     the 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


125 


"Union,"  and  Mr.  Van  der  Swaelmen,  the 
head  of  its  Technical  Division,  of  a  set  of 
"Instructions,"  so-called,  or  suggestions  to  be 
followed  by  the  various  Subsidiary  National 
Centres.  These  will  enable  each  of  these 
groups  to  work  in  harmony  with  the  Central 
Organization  in  the  task  of  collecting,  ex- 
amining, digesting  and  preparing  for  publica- 
tion the  brief  reviews  of  contemporaneous 
world-wide  material  in  regard  to  civic  affairs. 

It  seemed  important  that  these  Instructions 
should  be  issued  not  only  in  French  but  in 
English,  therefore  the  first  rough  draft  pre- 
pared in  French  by  Mr.  Van  der  Swaelmen, 
was  translated  by  your  representative  and 
amended  by  him  to  meet  American  conditions 
as  he  understood  them.  In  the  course  of  its 
preparation,  too,  we  were  fortunate  to  have 
short  visits  in  Brussels  from  Mr.  Ewart  G. 
Culpin  of  the  English  Garden  Cities  Asso- 
ciation, as  well  as  leaders  in  the  movement 
from  Amsterdam  and  Milan,  so  we  were  able 
to  incorporate  the  English,  Dutch  and  Italian 
viewpoints, — those  of  France  had  already  been 
ascertained.  It  will  be  readily  appreciated 
from  this  brief  statement  that  the  preparation 
of  these  "Instructions"  was  only  accomplished 
after  many  weeks  during  which  there  were  al- 
most daily  conferences  and  discussions,  all  of 
which  was  most  interesting. 

The  present  problem  is;  "How  can  Ameri- 
ca best  aid  in  this  movement,  and  particularly 
what  sort  of  helpful  action  can  the  A.  S.  L.  A. 
take  in  the  matter?"  Everyone  with  whom 
the  writer  has  discussed  the  problem  (and  he 
has  let  no  opportunity  pass  during  the  past 
year  to  do  this  at  City  Planning  and  other 
meetings,  as  well  as  by  correspondence) 
agrees  that  the  basic  idea  is  good.  While  it 
has  been  suggested  that  some  one  of  the  sev- 
eral private  organizations  interested  in  civic 
affairs  might  handle  this  matter,  there  is  a 
very  general  agreement  that  it  is  too  much  of 
a  proposition  for  any  such  private  agency  to 
finance,  and  that  the  best  way  would  be  to 
have  the  Government  at  Washington  take  it 
in  hand  in  some  form, — one  suggestion  being 
that  if  we  ever  get  the  Tinkham-Calder  bill 
and  its  Housing  and  Town  Planning  Bureau, 
this  might  well  become  one  of  its  functions, — 
that  such  a  Bureau  in  co-operation  with  the 
Library  of  Congress  could  organize  an  .Ameri- 
can Centre  of  Civic  Documentation  which 
could  then  affiliate  witli  the  Brussels  office 
and  serve  as  outlined  above.  The  writer  has 
interviewed  Librarian  Herbert  Putnam  of  the 
Library  of   Congress,   who  is   much   interested 


and  has  offered  to  co-operate  in  any  way  and 
to  have  the  Library  of  Congress  serve  as  the 
depository  of  any  such  Civic  Documentation 
as  might  be  assembled  in  America, — they  al- 
ready have  a  large  amount  of  such  Documen- 
tation and  receive  all  current  publications  on 
this  subject,  and  would  gladly  rearrange  this 
to  meet  our  needs.  But  the  Tinkham-Calder 
bill  and  its  proposed  Bureau  seem  to  be  either 
dead  or  side-tracked,  and  another  suggestion, 
perhaps  the  best  to  date,  is  that  the  Division 
of  Building  and  Housing  now  established  in 
the  Bureau  of  Standards  under  the  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce,  might  well  do  as  proposed 
above  in  connection  with  the  Housing  Bureau 
of  the  Tinkham-Calder  bill.  A  Resolution 
favoring  such  action  has  now  been  passed  by 
our  Society  and  good  progress  is  being  made 
toward  accomplishing  its   stipulations. 

The  Union  of  International  Associations, 
"Universitie  Internationale"  and  other  Affili- 
ated Organizations: 

Here  is  another  activity  or  group  of  activi- 
ties in  which  those  who  originally  organized 
the  "Comite  Ncerlando-Belge  d'.\rt  Civique" 
are  now  particularly  interesting  tliemsclves. 
The  active  and  important  International  As- 
sociations at  the  present  time  affiliated  with 
this  Union  include: 

Tlie  International  Union  of  Cities  and  its 
Centre  of  Civic  Documentation,  which  we  have 
been  considering. 

The  International  Institute  of  Bibliography, 
the  organization  that  has  among  other  notable 
achievements  prepared  the  decimal  system  of 
classification  above  alluded  to,  now  universal- 
ly known  and  adopted. 

The  International  Museum,  still  quite  in- 
adequately equipped,  but  thanks  to  the  Belgian 
Government,  provided  with  excellent  and 
ample  quarters  in  the  "Palais  Mondial,"  a 
former  Exposition  building.  Here  it  is  pro- 
posed to  assemble  (and  a  good  beginning  has 
been  made)  "the  elements  of  world-wide  cul- 
ture, past  and  present  and  through  the  meet- 
ings of  these  International  Associations,  offer 
these  to  all,  particularly  those  who  are  in- 
terested in  the  future  general  progress  of  civi- 
lization now  rapidly  becoming  universal." 

The  International  Library,  arranged  par- 
ticularly to  serve  these  International  Asso- 
ciations. Books,  pamphlets,  reports  and  so  on, 
especially  those  having  international  interests 
are  solicited  and  will   be  put  to  good  use. 

The  International  Union  of  Intellectual 
Workers,  definitely  organized  in  September 
19'71.     Your  representative  was  able  to  attend 


126 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


some  of  the  interesting  meetings.  This  or- 
ganization has  for  its  object  the  advancement 
of  the  best  interests  of  the  world's  intellectual 
workers, — now  so  neglected  as  compared  to 
financial  interests  and  those  of  manual  labor. 
The  new  organization  has  now  been  recognized 
and  subsidized  by  the  League  of  Nations, 
which  has  already  taken  similar  action,  es- 
tablishing an  International  (Manual)  Labor 
Bureau. 

The  International  University  which  "aims 
to  unite  in  a  movement  of  higher  education 
and  universal  culture  the  world's  Universities 
and  International  Associations,  enabling  a 
portion  of  the  students  of  such  institutions  to 
complete  their  education  by  initiating  them  in- 
to the  international  and  comparative  aspects 
of  all  great  problems." 

At  present,  while  the  Library,  Museum, 
Lecture  Halls  and  other  educational  facilities 
of  the  "Palais  Mondial"  are  open  all  the  year 
for  investigators  and  others  interested,  the 
main  activities  center  about  an  annual  two 
weeks'  session,  the  so-called  "Quinzaine  de 
rUniversitie"  held   usually   in   September. 

A  great  deal  of  interesting  information  was 
obtained  first  hand  by  your  Committee's  rep- 
resentative on  two  separate  "Journeys  of  In- 
vestigation by  the  Union  des  Villes  et  Com- 
munes Beiges";  the  first  one.  in  1920,  was  to 
the  more  important  Housing  and  Town  Plan- 
ning Projects  of  Holland;  the  second,  in  1921, 
to  similar  points  of  interest  in  the  Rhineland 
district  of  Germany. 

We  did  not  fail  to  note  how  much  more 
skillfully  and  tastefully  the  Dutch  handle  the 
use  of  color  than  do  the  Germans,  but  that 
Dutch  architects  have  apparently  been  in- 
fluenced by  German  methods  in  their  designs. 
We  noted,  too,  that  in  the  German  houses  the 
rooms  were  as  a  rule  slightly  larger  than  in 
Holland,  and  that  the  Dutch  tendency  was  to 
let  alcoves  replace  separate  bed-chambers. 
Perhaps,  as  one  of  our  party  remarked,  the 
seagoing  habits  of  the  country  have  influenced 
their  ship-like  berths.  We  noted,  too,  that  in 
spite  of  much  that  seemed  extravagant  as  to 
the  volume  of  house-operations  in  Germany, 
many  of  their  methods  were  most  economical. 
For  example,  the  low-studded  rooms,  the  in- 
expensive cement  blocks  (Schwemstein)  and, 
apropos  of  this,  that  in  many  of  the  German 
houses  partition  walls  between  rooms  were 
often  but  one  such  brick  or  block  in  thick- 
ness (about  four  inches)  plastered  on  both  sides. 

How  can  these  Belgian,  Dutch,  German, 
French    and    English    experiences    help    us    in 


America?  From  the,  perhaps  narrow,  point 
of  view  of  the  planning  of  towns  (not  the 
broader  all-inclusive  subject  City  Planning) 
not  so  very  greatly.  Very  little  is  being  done 
in  any  of  these  countries  in  regard  to  com- 
prehensive re-planning  or  re-building  of  the 
older  portions  of  their  cities,  even  the  de- 
vastated cities  (Rheims,  a  brilliant  example 
and  that  the  work  of  an  American);  nothing 
at  all  comparable  to  what,  for  example,  Chi- 
cago is  accomplishing.  The  unfortunate  story 
of  the  central  portion  of  Ypres  and  other 
Belgian  towns  has  been  mentioned.  The  mak- 
ing of  town  plans  in  most  of  these  countries 
is  confined  to  the  preparation  of  what  we 
would  call  now  allotments  on  the  outskirts  of 
towns  and  as  in  most  instances  in  all  these 
countries  their  topographical  conditions  are 
simple,  their  plan-problems  are  corresponding- 
ly so.  Formality  is  appropriate  with  straight 
lines  of  streets  rather  than  curved.  Diagonals 
are  usually  not  forgotten.  Narrow  pavements 
are  wisely  used,  and  few  alleyways  are  em- 
ployed, while  frequent  park  spaces  and  open 
squares  occur.  The  "cul  de  sac"  idea — the 
court  or  place,  has  been  quite  generally  over- 
worked, especially  in  England.  Little  or  no 
attention  is  given  to  organized  play  and  the 
providing  of  playgrounds.  Front  dooryards 
are  generally  not  deep,  15  to  20  feet  the  aver- 
age, and  rear  yards  are  also  mostly  compara- 
tively shallow,  seldom  more  than  50  or  75  feet 
in  depth.  Allotment  gardens  are  not  uncom- 
mon. Parks,  as  we  know  them,  especially 
genuine,  comprehensive  park  systems  as  at 
Boston,  Kansas  City,  and  Portland,  Oregon, 
are  almost  unknown.  The  great  question  of 
Zoning  has  hardly  been  considered  in  either 
Belgium  or  France,  and  while  it  may  be  said 
to  have  originated  in  Germany,  it  is  not  being 
very  strenuously  considered  even  there  at 
present.  There  is,  however,  an  awakening  in 
this  regard  in  England.  In  all  of  these  coun- 
tries, natural  conservation  has  helped  them  in 
this  matter,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  a  great 
majority  of  the  plain  people  are  tenants. 

All  of  these  countries,  however,  have  much 
to  teach  us  about  Housing,  particularly  hous- 
ing for  the  poor.  In  every  one  of  them  they 
are  doing  a  great  deal  to  help  the  poor  man, 
not  by  building  model  tenements  but  to  house 
him  and  his  family  in  conditions  that  are  usual- 
ly excellent  and  occasionally  luxurious.  We 
are  not  doing  this  in  America.  We  are  build- 
ing our  Rowland  Parks,  our  Forest  Hills  Gar- 
dens and  the  like,  but  these  are  for  what  they 
would   call    the    Bourgeoise,    the    middle   class, 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


121 


certainly  not  for  the  day  laborer.  And  as  to 
the  various  Government  War  Housing  enter- 
prises, this  admittedly  emergency  effort  was 
not  only  conducted  under  the  most  abnormal 
conditions  as  to  costs  and  speed  but  was  right- 
ly directed  largely  to  the  better  housing  of 
the  higher  paid  skilled  mechanic  and  foreman 
rather  than  for  the  really  poor  man.  It  is  our 
problem  here  and  now  to  do  better  for  this 
enormous  group.  Must  they  always  "continue 
to  occupy  the  cast-off  houses  of  tlie  better 
paid?" 

How  are  they  doing  it?  First,  by  mass  pro- 
duction,— projects  of  from  200  to  500  houses 
are  quite  common  and  we  have  noted  one  or 
more  of  3,000,  Then  there  are  really  very  few 
detached  houses,  many  semi-detached  and 
many  more  in  rows  of  groups  of  from  four  to 
fen.  As  to  details,  an  enorrpous  amount  of 
money  is  saved  in  the  aggregate  by  the  almost 
universal  method  of  not  building  cellars.  H 
there  is  any  substructure  ("cave"  they  call  it) 
it  is  small — more  often  there  is  none,  but  a 
convenient  out-building  serves  for  coal,  wood 
and  supplies,  at  far  less  cost.  Modern  heat- 
ing methods  do  not  demand  a  cellar  for  genu- 
ine comfort,  in  many  parts  of  America,  and 
we  would  do  well  to  adopt  some  of  the  in- 
genius  heating  and  cooking  devices  noted  in 
England  and  Germany — these  are  being  intro- 
duced in  France,  Holland  and  Belgium.  Sim- 
pler methods  of  plumbing  must  be  devised  and 
our  Plumbing  and  Building  Ordinances  amend- 
ed to  permit  them, — they  can  still  be  safe, 
sanitary  and  healthful.  For  example,  it  is  to 
be  noted  that  in  the  homes  of  the  real  poor  it 
is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  have  a  bath- 
tub,— often,  as  we  know,  abused.  With  other 
toilet  and  heating  facilities,  portable  tubs,  or 
inexpensive  shower-baths,  are  perfectly  proper. 
The  comparatively  small  size  of  rooms  has 
been  mentioned,  also  the  fact  that  they  are 
often  relatively  low-studded.  The  "sallc-com- 
mune"  or  common  room  doing  away  with  the 
extravagant  parlor,  shut  up  except  for  funerals 
or  weddings,  is  another  item.  Also  the  small 
scullery, — what  we  would  call  a  kitchenette, 
saves  money  and  steps.  Standardized  details, 
window-frames,  doors,  sashes,  shutters,  or 
blinds  and  these  manufactured  in  large  quanti- 
ties,— all  these  things  help. 

As  to  exterior  architecture,  our  American 
architects  are  by  no  means  lacking  in  skill  and 
taste — certainly  Germany  and  Holland  can 
teach  them  little. 

Then  the  policy  of  buying  land  ahead  at  or 
near  agricultural  values  and  holding  for  hous- 


ing needs  is  of  utmost  importance  and  there 
would  seem  to  be  no  good  reason  why  their 
principles  in  such  matters  should  not  be 
adapted  to  our  conditions.  The  Society  "Ons 
Limbourg"  mentioned,  that  buys  the  farm 
lands  in  the  Maestricht  mining  district  is  run 
on  principles  that  could  be  readily  employed 
in  America.  To  be  sure  it  demands  foresight, 
good  judgment  and  a  spirit  of  co-operation,  but 
no  .American  will  admit  that  our  people  are 
lacking  in  these  qualifications.  The  problem 
is  to  stir  them  up,  set  them  to  work. 

The  writer  holds  no  brief  for  many  of  their 
financial  methods,  however, — certainly  for 
neither  the  private  philanthropy  of  Port  Sun- 
light and  Essen  with  their  over-luxurious  pro- 
visions, nor  the  over-subsidization,  the  real 
Government  charity  methods  that  have  been 
so  common  in  England,  France,  Holland  and 
Belgium.  He  became  fully  convinced,  in  1920, 
when  England's  methods  were  at  "full  cry" 
that  they  were  "riding  for  a  fall,"  and  the 
slump  has  now  come  with  disastrous  results 
to  housing  and  labor  conditions,  some  of  which 
have  been  mentioned.  Holland  did  not  go  to 
quite  such  limits  and  is  now  proceeding  more 
conservatively  to  retrench.  Belgium  is  follow- 
ing closely  Holland's  footsteps.  Germany's 
methods  of  spend  and  make  debts  and  "the 
devil  take  the  hindmost"  certainly  are  to  be 
avoided.  On  the  whole  perhaps  France  is 
turning  out  to  be  the  most  conservative.  Fi- 
nancial conditions  have  no  doubt  had  much  to 
do  with  this  and  there  today  among  the  most 
thoughtful  "it  is  hoped  that  private  initiative 
will  again  get  the  upper  hand  when  people 
have  been  persuaded  that  the  provision  of 
small  dwellings  is  a  business  proposition  like 
any  other  and  that  the  capital  which  is  in- 
volved therein  ought  to  bring  a  net  return  at 
least  equal  to  the  legal  rate  5%.  The  philan- 
thropic societies  which  rent  dwellings  at  lower 
than  the  market  rent  have  killed  private  initia- 
tive." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Comite  Neer- 
lando-Belge  d'Art  Civique  is  now  disbanded 
and  its  members  concentrating  their  efforts 
principally  upon  the  work  of  the  International 
Union  of  Cities  and  its  Centres  of  Civic  Docu- 
mentation, your  Chairman  respectfully  sug- 
gests that  the  Special  Committee  of  the  A.  S. 
L.  A.to  Co-operate  with  the  Comite  Neerlando- 
Belge  d'Art  Civique  be  discharged,  but  that 
a  new  one  be  appointed  to  be  called  "The 
Special  Committee  of  the  A.  S.  L.  A.  to  Co- 
operate with  the  International  Union  of  Cities 
and  Its  Centres  of  Civic  Documentation." 


128 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


WHAT  IS  "PROFESSIONAL"  PRACTICE  IN  LANDSCAPE 
ARCHITECTURE? 


:By    FREDERICK    LAW    OLMSTED 

Reprinted  from  '^Landscape  Architecture" 


"People  in  this  locality  don't  want  to 
pay  me  for  professional  advice  unless  I 
will  carry  out  the  work.  How  can  I 
satisfy  them  without  acting  unprofession- 
ally?" 

"What  is  'professional'  and  what  is 
'unprofessional'  for  a  landscape  architect 
to  do  in  the  way  of  'executing  work'?" 

"Is  it  always  unprofessional  for  a  land- 
scape architect  to  do  'contracting'?" 

These  are  representative  of  a  class  of 
questions  which  are  often  asked  by  the 
younger  landscape  architects  and  which 
the  most  experienced  cannot  always 
answer  clearly  and  without  hesitation. 

This  article  is  an  attempt  to  clarifj'  the 
main  principles  involved  in  all  such  ques- 
tions. With  a  firm  grasp  of  these  prin- 
ciples honesty  and  common  sense  will 
show  anyone  the  proper  answer  to  his 
own  particular  question. 

The  "Official  Statement"  of  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Landscape  Architects  says 
of  the  landscape  architect  in  good  pro- 
fessional standing  that:  "His  remunera- 
tion is  an  openly  stated  compensation  re- 
ceived directly  from  his  client  for  ser- 
vices rendered,  and  not  a  hidden  or  specu- 
lative profit  on  materials  supplied  or 
labor  employed."  It  further  says  that  he 
"supervises  the  execution  of  his  plans" 
and  that  "He  acts  ...  as  his  client's 
agent  in  selecting  and  ordering  materials 
and  in  issuing  instructions  for  the  exe- 
cution of  work  by  contractors  or  others."' 

Let  me  add  that,  while  nothing  is 
said  about  it  one  way  or  the  other  in 
the    "Statement,"    the    reference    in    the 


above  passages  to  "supervision"  and  to 
"issuing  instructions"  cannot  be  inter- 
preted as  excluding  personal  performance 
of  mechanical  manual  labor  by  a  land- 
scape architect  or  his  assistants  ;  whether 
that  labor  is  pushing  a  pen,  or  cutting 
down  a  tree  which  blocks  a  view  that  he 
wants  to  open  immediately  (instead  of 
waiting  until  he  can  find  a  man  that  holds 
a  card  in  the  Amalgamated  Axemen's 
Union). 

It  might  be  here  noted,  however,  that 
when  a  landscape  architect  working  on  a 
per  diem  basis,  or  its  equivalent,  person- 
ally does  work  which  could  probably  well 
be  done  by  someone  such  as  a  laborer  or 
a  draftsman,  whose  rate  of  pay  is  much 
lower  than  the  ordinary  rate  of  pay  of 
the  landscape  architect,  the  time  so  con- 
sumed ought  to  be  charged  at  less  than 
the  landscape  architect's  standard  rate, 
unless  by  such  "direct  action"  so  great  a 
saving  in  time  is  effected  as  to  justify 
charging  at  the  full  rate.  This  method 
of  charging  at  reduced  rates  often  ap- 
plies in  a  small  office  where  the  landscape 
architect  occasionally  does  routine  draft- 
ing in  spare  time  rather  than  take  on  an 
extra  draftsman. 

It  seems  clear  that  it  would  not  be  out 
of  accord  with  the  letter  or  the  spirit  of 
the  above  passages  for  a  landscape  archi- 
tect, at  the  request  of  a  client,  to  assume 
responsibility  for  issuing  all  the  orders 
necessary  for  the  proper  execution  of 
work,  even  though  in  so  doing  the  land- 
scape architect  were  to  perform  substan- 
tially  all   the   managerial    and    executive 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


129 


functions  ordinarily  performed  by  a  "con- 
tractor ;"  provided  only  that  "his  remun- 
eration is  an  open!)'  stated  compensation 
received  from  his  client  for  services  ren- 
dered and  not  a  speculative  profit  on  ma- 
terials  or   labor   employed." 

As  I  understand  it.  the  essentially  dis- 
tinguishing feature  of  "speculative  profit" 
or  "commercial  profit"  in  this  connection 
is  that  the  amount  of  such  profit  is  in- 
determinate, is  not  accounted  for  to  the 
party  who  pays  it,  and  may  be  increased 
to  any  extent  by  which  the  energy,  skill 
or  luck  of  the  contractor  enables  him  to 
keep  the  cost  of  the  work  or  materials  or 
both  below  the  amount  for  which  he  con- 
tracted to  get  the  results  accomplished. 

It  is  clearly  unprofessional  for  a  land- 
scape architect  to  take  a  "lump  sum  con- 
tract" or  a  "unit  price  contract"  or  any 
other  form  of  contract  for  the  furnishing 
of  "materials"  or  the  supplying  of  "labor" 
by  which  he  becomes  obligated  to  pro- 
duce a  result  for  a  certain  price  and  is  en- 
titled to  whatever  margin  of  profit  there 
may  be  between  the  actual  cost  of  achiev- 
ing that  result  and  the  price  for  which 
he  contracted  to  produce  it.  It  is  not  in 
itself  essentially  and  inevitably  un])rofes- 
sional  for  him  to  undertake  a  "cost  plus" 
contract,  by  which  he  agrees  to  act  as  the 
agent  of  the  client  in  bringing  about  the 
execution  of  his  plans,  provided  his  com- 
pensation over  and  above  his  reimburse- 
ment for  authorized  and  accounted  for  ex- 
penditures on  behalf  of  the  client  is  a 
known  amount,  which  may  be  either  a 
lump  sum,  or  a  fee  based  upon  time  (such 
as  a  per  diem  charge  or  other  periodic 
charge  or  salary)  or  an  agreed  percent- 
age. There  are  some  objections  to  fixing 
that  compensation  by  a  percentage  on  the 
cost  of  the  work,  but  it  cannot  be  said 
that  such  a  basis  is  in  itself  unprofes- 
sional. 

To  make  the  matter  clearer  I  will  set 
forth  successive  extensions  of  the  field  of 
activity  under  an  agency  contract.     But 


first  let  me  remove  a  frequent  source  of 
misunderstanding  in  the  use  of  the  words 
"contractor"  and  "contracting."  and  point 
out  the  essential  nature  of  an  agency  con- 
tract as  distinguished  from  the  s|)ecula- 
tive  type  of  contract  of  which  the  familiar 
"lump  sum  contract"  is  representative. 

A  contract  is  "any  agreement  between 
two  or  more  parties  for  the  doing  or  the 
not  doing  of  some  definite  thing."  Every 
professional  man  enters  into  a  contract, 
expressed  or  implied,  whenever  he  ac- 
cepts employment ;  and  is  therefore 
strictly  speaking  a  contractor.  But  the 
words  "contractor"  and  "contracting"  are 
often  used,  more  or  less  colloquially,  to 
connote  a  particular  kind  of  contract. 
Unfortunately  when  used  in  this  limited 
colloquial  way  their  connotation  is  ant  to 
be  differently  understood  by  different 
people,  .'^ome  peo])Ie  habitually  under- 
stand them  as  referring  only  to  "lump 
sum  contracts"  and  "unit  price  contracts." 
especially  for  the  execution  of  buildings  and 
works  of  engineering  and  landscape  archi- 
tecture :  but  many  whose  main  business  is 
"contracting"  in  this  limited  sense,  also 
undertake  similar  works  under  "agency 
contracts,"  especially  under  contracts  of 
the  "cost  plus  percentage"  type :  and 
there  are  some  who  do  such  work  ex- 
clusively under  "agency  contracts"  and 
who  are  nevertheless  colloquially  called 
"contractors." 

Under  an  agency  contract  the  contrac- 
tor, so  long  as  he  acts  within  the  limits 
of  his  authorization,  need  assume  no  fi- 
nancial resijonsibility  on  his  own  account 
and  acts  strictly  as  an  agent  of  his  prin- 
cipal. Any  claim  for  payment  on  account 
of  services  rendered  or  requested,  or 
goods  delivered  or  ordered,  or  damages 
sustained,  as  a  result  of  his  action  as 
agent  (within  the  scope  of  his  authori- 
zation by  his  principal)  is  a  claim  not 
against  him  personally  but  against  his 
principal,  by  whose  authority  and  on 
whose  account  he  acts.     His  authoriza- 


i:50 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


tion  may  limit  the  total  of  expenditures 
for  which  he  may  contract  with  others  on 
behalf  of  his  principal ;  but  it  cannot  at 
the  same  time  obligate  him  to  produce 
certain  results  within  that  sum.  It  can 
only  require  him  to  stop  incurring  obliga- 
tions when  the  limit  of  the  appropriation 
is  reached,  whether  the  proposed  result 
has  been  accomplished  or  not.  If  as  a 
result  of  his  legitimate  action  (within  the 
scope  of  his  authorization)  damages  are 
incurred,  his  principal  is  liable  for  those 
damages  even  though  they  exceed  the 
amount  of  the  appropriation  within  which 
he  was  instructed  to  keep  the  cost  of  the 
work.  He  is  obligated  to  use  due  dili- 
gence and  skill  in  protecting  his  princi- 
pal's interest,  but  guarantees  nothing  be- 
yond that. 

The  lump-sum  contractor,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  his  own  principal,  and  under- 
takes to  produce  for  the  other  party  to 
the  contract  a  more  or  less  well  defined 
result  for  a  certain  sum.  He  hires  and 
fires  on  his  own  account,  buys  goods  on 
his  own  account  and  enters  into  other 
contracts  on  his  own  account.  Claims 
for  payment  growing  out  of  his  actions, 
including  claims  for  damages  sustained 
as  a  result  of  his  action,  are  claims 
against  him  and  not  against  the  other 
party  to  the  contract.  He  takes  a  specu- 
lative risk,  and  he  makes  a  speculative 
profit  if  he  can,  and  as  large  as  he  can. 
He  is  not  accountable  to  the  other  party 
to  the  contract  for  the  amount  of  that 
profit  nor  for  the  actual  cost  of  the  work. 
He  is  in  the  position  of  the  speculative 
purchaser  of  any  commodity  who  sells  it 
as  best  he  can,  accepting  a  loss  if  he  must, 
and  making  all  the  profit  he  can  in  the 
face  of  the  competition  of  others. 

There  need  be  nothing  in  the  least  de- 
gree unfair  or  dishonorable  in  this  rela- 
tion of  a  speculative  contractor  or  vendor 
to  his  customers.  But  such  a  relation  is 
absolutely  incompatible  with  the  fiduci- 
ary  relation   which   a   professional    land- 


scape architect  assumes  to  his  client,  be- 
cause the  essence  of  that  relation  is  the 
obligation  which  he  assumes  to  protect 
his  client's  legitimate  interests  in  the 
matters  at  issue  to  the  best  of  his  ability. 
He  can  not  run  with  the  hare  and  hunt 
with  the  hounds.  If  he  tries  it,  under 
whatever  pretext  or  in  whaever  form,  he 
is  not  merely  acting  unprofessionally ;  he 
is  outright  dishonest. 

Now  let  us  return  to  the  scope  of  what 
may  be  undertaken  by  a  professional  land- 
scape architect  under  an  agency  contract. 

It  is  a  frequent  arrangement  for  a  land- 
scape architect,  especially  upon  small  or 
upon  complicated  and  delicate  work,  to 
recommend  to  a  client  the  employment  of 
superintendents  or  foremen  in  whom  he 
has  confidence,  to  advise  or  direct  them 
in  their  employment  of  laborers  and  ar- 
tisans, to  direct  their  work,  to  order  ma- 
terials for  the  client,  and  to  check  and 
recommend  for  payment  by  the  client  the 
payrolls  and  bills  as  they  become  due. 
Less  frequently  the  landscape  architect 
may  receive  deposits  of  cash  in  advance 
from  the  client  and  draw  upon  them  for 
payment  of  bills  and  payrolls  on  the 
client's  account  as  they  become  due,  sub- 
mitting vouchers  to  the  client  subse- 
quently when  he  accounts  for  expendi- 
tures made.  Still  less  frequently,  but,  so 
far  as  I  can  see,  without  any  essential 
change  in  the  character  of  the  relation- 
ship, he  may,  if  so  requested,  borrow  the 
funds  from  a  bank  or  other  source  of 
credit  and  make  similar  payments  on  the 
client's  account,  charging  up  interest  pay- 
ments on  these  borrowed  funds  as  part 
of  the  cost  of  the  operation,  and  account- 
ing as  before  with  proper  vouchers  for  all 
expenditures.  Finally  he  might  furnish 
the  funds  out  of  his  own  capital,  and 
charge  interest  thereon  as  a  banker  would 
do.  If  in  the  latter  case  his  charges  for 
interest  on  the  capital  advanced  were  not 
segregated  but  were  lumped  with  certain 
other  overhead  expenses   in   the   general 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


131 


charge  for  his  services,  he  would  be  pre- 
cisely in  the  position  of  the  ordinary 
"cost-plus"  contractor;  and  if  the  charge 
for  thus  furnishing  the  capital  and  his 
other  services  be  reasonable  and  clearly 
defined  in  advance,  it  is  difficult  to  see 
exactly  how  he  has  crossed  the  Rubicon 
and  entered  the  field  of  clearly  and  in- 
herently unprofessional  conduct. 

Take  notice  that  I  do  not  approve  such 
a  procedure  as  a  general  one  for  land- 
scape architects,  for  reasons  which  I  will 
set  forth.  But  I  do  say  that  even  such 
an  agency  contract  as  the  last  seems  to 
me,  in  strict  logic,  not  necessarily  unpro- 
fessional per  se  in  special  cases. 

The  primary  objection  as  a  practical 
matter  to  extending  the  scope  of  a  land- 
scape architect's  business  far  in  that  di- 
rection is  that  it  involves  a  constantly 
increasing  emphasis  upon  purely  execu- 
tive and  managerial  activities,  the  devo- 
tion of  a  constantly  increasing  share  of 
his  time  and  energy  to  such  activities, 
and  a  corresponding  reduction  of  the 
share  of  his  time  and  energy  devoted  to 
problems  of  design. 

Now  the  reason  for  the  existence  of  a 
profession  of  landscape  architecture  is  to 
provide  people  highly  skilled  in  the  Art 
of  Design  applied  to  landscape  problems, 
and  having  sufficient  executive  ability  to 
secure  the  effective  realization  of  their 
designs.  And  in  so  far  as  development 
of  his  executive  activities  tends  to  with- 
draw emphasis  from  a  landscape  archi- 
tect's function  as  a  designer,  and  material- 
ly diminishes  that  effective  concentration 
upon  problems  of  design  which  is  the 
only  means  of  developing  his  skill  there- 
in, it  tends  to  convert  him  from  a  land- 
scape architect  into  something  else — 
commonly  called  a  contractor — irrespec- 
tive of  whether  he  practices  contracting 
in  a  professional  manner  under  agency 
contracts  or  whether  he  practices  it  com- 
mercially and  speculatively  under  lump 
sum  or  unit  price  contracts. 


The  same  sort  of  reasons  which  make 
desirable  the  degree  of  specialization  that 
distinguishes  landscape  architects  from 
architects,  and  that  distinguishes  both  of 
them  from  engineers,  makes  it  highly  im- 
portant to  maintain  and  develop  the 
specialization  and  separation  of  landscape 
architects  from  "contractors."  Under 
circumstances  which  make  it  difficult  or 
impossible  to  obtain  the  services  of  com- 
petent "contractors"  for  landscape  work, 
a  landscape  architect  is  justified  in  going 
further  in  assuming  executive  responsi- 
bilities, ])rofessionally  and  as  an  agent, 
than  is  ordinarily  wise  or  proper;  but  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  even  where 
competent  contractors  are  scarce  it  is 
to  the  interest  of  the  profession  and  of 
its  clients  to  develop  good  landscape  con- 
tractors rather  than  to  discourage  their 
development  by  performing  the  functions 
proper  to  them  in  combination  with  the 
special  functions  jjeculiar  tt)  landsca])e 
architects. 

In  other  words  a  landscape  architect 
ought  to  keep  clear  of  undertaking,  even 
in  a  professional  manner,  the  executive 
functions  proper  to  a  "contractor"  just  as 
far  as  he  can  do  so  without  manifest  and 
substantial  injury  to  the  interests  which 
are  confided  to  him  by  his  clients. 

Looking  at  the  matter  from  the  most 
selfish  point  of  view,  it  is  normally  a 
short-sighted  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
landscape  architect  to  undertake  what 
are  properly  "contractor's"  functions,  for 
the  mere  sake  of  earning  the  compensa- 
tion which  goes  with  these  extra  jobs,  or 
even  through  an  easy-going  acquiescence 
in  the  request  of  a  client,  just  as  it  would 
be  to  undertake  the  functions  of  a  real 
estate  agent  or  a  hotel  keeper.  Working 
at  such  "side  lines"  is  apt  to  seem  a  con- 
fession that  he  can  not  earn  his  salt  as  a 
landscape  architect,  and  it  certainly  tends 
to  spread  him  out  so  thin  as  to  lose  the 
advantages  which  come  from  proper  pro- 
fessional specialization.     This  is  not  the 


i:?2 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


day  of  the  Jack-at-all-trades  who  is  mas- 
ter of  none. 

The  foregoing  discussion  should  have 
made  it  clear  that  there  is  no  simple  cri- 
terion by  which,  under  all  circumstances, 
the  line  can  be  sharply  drawn  between 
what  a  landscape  architect  can  properly 
do  in  the  execution  of  his  designs  and 
what  he  should  not  do.  Experience  has 
shown,  however,  that  there  are  certain 
critical  points  which  should  be  regarded 
as  red  flags,  marking  dangers  that  ought 
not  to  be  incurred  by  a  landscape  archi- 
tect without  the  most  careful  and  meticu- 
lous consideration  of  the  circumstances 
of  the  particular  case,  lest  he  get  himself 
into  a  false  position ;  a  position  either  es- 
sentially unprofessional  or  likely  to  ap- 
pear so  to  others  in  the  absence  of  a  much 
fuller  explanation  than  is  usually  pos- 
sible. 

One  of  these  danger  points  is  the  dis- 
bursement of  his  own  funds  by  a  land- 
scape architect  for  materials  delivered  to 
a  client  either  through  him  or  direct. 
Such  disbursement  may  be  entirely 
aboveboard  and  fully  understood  and  ac- 
counted for  between  him  and  his  client ; 
but  it  is  a  regular  and  usual  step  in  the 
mechanism  of  purchase  and  sale  for  per- 
sonal commercial  profit,  and  as  such 
ought  to  be  avoided  by  the  professional 
man.  It  is  practically  always  possible  to 
avoid  it ;  as  by  inducing  the  client,  if 
necessary,  to  establish  a  drawing  accoimt 
from  which  payments  or  advances  are  to 
be  made  on  the  order  of  the  landscape 
architect. 

In  the  rare  instances  where  a  landscape 
architect  cannot  properly  and  reasonably 
avoid  drawing  checks  in  payment  for 
plants  or  other  materials  purchased  for  a 
client,  it  is  desirable,  in  order  to  make  the 
relationship  clear,  to  open  a  separate 
bank  account  and  sign  the  checks  as 
"Agent  for ." 

The  same  considerations  apply  to  pay- 
ments by  the  landscape  architect  on  ac- 


count of  other  contracts  entered  into  on 
behalf  of  the  client,  or  on  account  of 
"labor"  payrolls. 

This  brings  up  the  point  that  no  sharp 
and  invariable  line  can  be  defined  be- 
tween what  are  and  are  not  "materials" 
or  "labor"  in  the  meaning  of  the  State- 
ment. The  pencils  used  by  a  landscape 
architect  in  making  his  studies  are  in  fact 
materials,  but  common  sense  shows  that 
it  would  be  ridiculous  to  attempt  to 
charge  them  up  in  detail  at  exact  cost  to 
every  client  for  whom  a  landscape  archi- 
tect works.  They  are  lumped  in  as  a  part 
of  the  overhead  cost  of  his  business  by 
the  landscape  architect,  and  the  charges 
which  pay  for  his  services  go  in  part  to 
meeting  these  overhead  expenses.  It 
might  be  an  amusing,  hair-splitting,  aca- 
demic question  for  accountants  to  say 
whether  his  lump  charges  for  services 
should  or  should  not  be  regarded  as  in- 
cluding a  minute  element  of  "profit"  on 
such  materials  used  in  rendering  the  ser- 
vice ;  but  so  long  as  such  theoretical  profit 
is  utterly  negligible  in  amount  and  has 
no  practical  influence  upon  his  total 
charges,  the  question  remains  academic 
and  of  not  the  slightest  consequence.  If 
the  materials  which  he  thus  buys  and 
uses  in  performing  his  services  should  be- 
come so  abnormally  costly  in  any  special 
case  or  cases  that  he  is  forced  to  take 
special  account  of  them  in  fixing  his  total 
compensation,  he  would  do  well  in  such 
a  case  to  arrange  for  charging  them  up 
to  the  client  in  detail  at  cost,  or  if  the  cost 
cannot  be  fixed  with  absolute  precision,  at 
an  approximation  to  cost  so  close  that  no 
possible  element  of  profit  in  the  transac- 
tion substantially  influences  the  amount 
of  his  bills.  If  he  goes  beyond  that  point 
he  is  substantially  open  to  the  charge  of 
deriving  his  compensation  from  a  "com- 
mercial profit  on  materials  used." 

The  case  is  sometimes  more  perplexing 
as  to  "labor."  The  labor  of  his  office  boy 
or  his  stenographer  is  ordinarily  charged 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


133 


to  a  landscape  architect's  overhead  ex- 
pense along  with  his  office  rent,  and  its 
cost  is  recouped  (with  or  without  a  the- 
oretical but  wholly  negligible  "profit") 
out  of  his  total  charges  to  clients.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  labor  of  draftsmen  and 
other  assistants  only  in  case  the  land- 
scape architect's  fixed  fee  covers  their 
services  as  well  as  his  own  (whether  it 
be  a  lump  sum  fee,  or  an  acreage  fee.  or 
a  fee  based  on  a  percentage  of  "total 
cost").  The  cost  of  the  services  of  such 
assistants  varies  widely  in  difiFerent  kinds 
of  jobs.  As  long  as  it  is  small  relatively 
to  the  charge  for  his  personal  services  the 
question  of  a  "profit"  on  it  is  academic 
and  negligible.  But  it  may  legitimately, 
and  in  the  client's  best  interests,  become 
very  large  in  some  cases,  far  exceeding 
the  charge  for  the  landscape  architect's 
own  personal  services.  In  such  cases  the 
question  of  whether  the  charge  for  the 
"labor"  of  assistants  includes  a  substan- 
tial profit  becomes  professionally  im- 
portant. 

Absolutely  no  hard  and  fast  line  based 
upon  the  character  of  the  work  done  can 
be  so  drawn  as  to  separate  that  which  is 
"labor"  from  that  which  is  some  kind  of 
high-brow-stufF  distinguishable  from  "la- 
bor." A  landscape  architect's  planting 
assistant  may  just  as  legitimately  and 
just  as  professionally  set  a  plant  with  his 
own  hands,  if  that  is  an  efficient  way  to 
get  the  best  results,  as  to  draw  plans  and 
give  long  explanations  of  how  he  wants 
it  done. 

In  the  interest  of  the  best  art  we  should 
not  interpose  any  artificial  harriers  tend- 
ing to  keep  the  landscape  architect  and 
his  regular  trained  assistants  at  arm's 
length  from  the  work.  The  closer  the 
personal  contact  and  responsibility  for 
details  the  better  for  the  work. 

What  then  is  to  prevent  a  landscape 
architect  from  gradually  increasing  the 
functions  assumed  by  his  employees  un- 
til   they   are   doing   a    large    part    of   the 


"labor"  of  a  job,  in  any  common-sense 
i:se  of  the  word  labor? 

Nothing,  except  the  objection  previous- 
ly raised  against  his  habitually  undertak- 
ing executive  functions  at  the  expense  of 
his  proper  emphasis  upon  the  functions 
of  design,  prodded  he  is  not  making  a 
"commercial  profit"  on  the  labor  of  his 
assistants.  In  any  case  where  the  pay  of 
his  employees  is  likely  to  be  more  than 
a  minor  item  in  the  total  which  he 
charges  against  his  client  he  ought,  I  be- 
lieve, to  avoid  charging  for  their  work  on 
a  lump  sum  basis ;  or  on  any  basis  which 
fixes  his  total  compensation  without  re- 
gard to  the  amount  which  he  pays  out  to 
his  employees,  and  which  leaves  him  to 
make  a  considerable  speculative  profit  or 
loss  on  the  transaction  according  to 
whether  the}-  "get  away"  with  doing  only 
a  little  work  on  the  job  or  put  in  a  great 
deal  of  work. 

This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  I  think 
the  method  of  charging  an  agreed  lump 
sum  fee  to  cover  professional  services  and 
ex[)enses.  should  seldom  be  used  where  so 
large  an  amount  of  assistants'  services  is 
involved  that  the  compensation  for  the 
personal  services  of  the  landscape  archi- 
tect becomes  a  very  minor  item  in  his 
total  bill. 

The  same  objection  of  course  holds 
against  a  fee  fixed  by  a  percentage  rela- 
tion to  the  total  cost  where  that  fee  is 
intended  to  cover  a  large  amount  of  as- 
sistants' services. 

But  in  view  of  the  actual  custom  of 
some  entirely  reputable  landscape  archi- 
tects, and  of  most  architects,  of  charging 
on  the  basis  last  mentioned,  it  would  be 
quixotic  today  to  regard  it  as  unprofes- 
sional provided  the  practitioner  who  uses 
it  is  scrupulously  careful  to  confine  the 
work  covered  by  such  a  fee  well  within 
the  customary  limits  of  making  plans  and 
other  office  work  and  occasional  super- 
vision, and  to  avoid  anv  obligation  under 


134 


TRANSACTION'S  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


such  a  contract  of  furnishing-  what  might 
reasonably  be  construed  as  "labor." 

Any  method  of  charging  a  client  for  the 
services  of  a  landscape  architect's  em- 
ployees which  avoids  the  possibility 
either  of  substantial  speculative  profit 
or  of  considerable  loss  from  this  source 
leaves  the  landscape  architect  free  to  use 
his  best  judgment,  substantially  without 
the  bias  of  financial  self-interest  and 
without  the  suspicion  thereof,  in  deciding 
what  work  and  how  much  work  to  have 
done  by  his  own  employees  for  the  client, 
and  what  to  have  done  by  others  not  on 
his  own  payroll.  He  is  then  in  the  best 
position  to  establish  the  value  of  the 
skilled  and  disinterested  service  which  he 
renders  in  deciding  such  questions  and 
in  the  general  direction  of  the  work,  and 
to  charge  for  that  service  known  fees 
properly  commensurate  with  its  value. 

A  method  of  charging  for  the  services 
of  assistants  without  substantial  specula- 
tive profit  or  loss  must  take  account  of  the 
indirect  costs  or  overhead  expenses.  No 
such  method  can  be  absolutely  exact,  be- 
cause the  apportionment  of  general  over- 
head expenses  among  many  diflferent  jobs 
served  by  the  facilities  which  are  repre- 
sented in  the  overhead  expense  is  always 
a  matter  of  somewhat  arbitrary  judg- 
ment. A  rough  approximation  is  enough, 
if  it  is  intelligently  scrutinized  from  time  to  time 
and  readjusted  With  an  honest,  common-sense  at- 
tempt to  mak.e  it  reasonably  fair. 

A  brief  reference  to  the  history  of  this 
matter  in  the  Olmsted  firm  will  help  to 
indicate  at  least  what  I  believe  to  be  the 
right  tendency. 

Forty  years  ago  the  usual  method  of 
the  firm  was  to  charge  a  lump  sum  fee 
which  covered  the  services  both  of  mem- 
bers of  the  firm  and  of  assistants,  and  the 
general  overhead  expenses,  with  pro- 
vision in  some  cases  for  charging  separ- 
ately in  addition  only  certain  specified, 
easily  segregated  and  directly  chargeable 
items  like  traveling  expenses.     The  office 


force  was  small  and  a  large  part  of  the 
working  up  of  details  was  apt  to  be  done 
by  employees  of  the  client,  often  recom- 
mended for  employment  by  the  firm,  and 
working  on  the  job  under  the  advice  and 
supervision  of  the  firm.  In  case  of  large 
works  extending  over  a  considerable 
period  there  is  much  to  be  said  for  this 
method  of  pushing  the  details  of  design- 
ing out  on  to  the  job  itself. 

But  as  circumstances  made  it  appear 
desirable  in  the  client's  interest  in  more 
and  more  cases  to  have  a  large  amount 
of  detailed  plan  work,  etc..  done  by  office 
assistants,  the  practice  grew  up  of  charg- 
ing for  these  assistants'  services  separate- 
ly from  the  fee  at  the  direct  cost  of  these 
services,  the  overhead  expenses  of  the 
office  being  still  covered  by  the  profes- 
sional fee. 

About  twenty-five  years  ago,  the  size 
of  the  office  having  grown  pretty  large, 
it  became  apparent  that  this  method  often 
resulted  in  a  loss,  and  anyhow  was  unde- 
sirably speculative  because  much  of  the 
overhead  expenses  such  as  rent,  light, 
heat,  drafting  materials,  equipment,  etc., 
(not  to  mention  the  cost  of  idle  time  of 
assistants,  "ready  to  serve")  were  much 
more  nearly  proportional  to  the  amount 
of  assistants'  services  used  on  a  given  job 
than  to  the  personal  services  of  the  firm. 
Therefore  the  method  followed  in  many 
engineers'  offices  was  adopted,  namely 
charging  up  assistants'  services  at  twice 
the  rate  per  hour  at  which  those  assist- 
ants were  paid,  in  order  to  cover  over- 
head expense,  while  the  '"professional 
fee"  (which  appeared  on  the  bills  separ- 
ately from  the  charge  for  assistants'  ser- 
\'ices)  was,  on  the  average,  reduced  so  as 
to  represent  more  nearly  the  value  of  the 
personal  services  rendered  by  members  of 
the  firm. 

It  was  found  that  year  in  and  year  out 
this  method  of  charging  for  assistants' 
services  covered,  in  the  gross,  the  entire 
direct  cost  of  the  assistants'  services  and 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


135 


the  entire  overhead  expenses  of  the  office 
with  a  margin  of  "profit"  which  in  some 
years  reached  as  much  as  18  to  20  per 
cent.  We  came  to  regard  this  as  not  a 
sufficiently  fair  approximation,  especially 
as  between  different  jobs,  and  it  became 
the  practice  to  make  an  arbitrary  and 
voluntary  scaling  down  of  the  100  per 
cent,  "margin"  in  special  cases  where  it 
seemed  unfair  to  the  client. 

Later,  with  the  gradual  improvement 
of  our  cost  accounting  methods,  differ- 
entiations were  made  between  several 
classes  of  assistants'  services  which  plain- 
ly involved  different  proportions  of  over- 
head expenses.  DilTerent  rates  of  "mar- 
gins" were  charged  on  these  different 
classes,  and  at  the  end  of  each  year  the 
different  items  of  actual  overhead  ex- 
pense were  apportioned  against  the  sev- 
eral "departments"  thus  established  with 
a  real  effort  to  make  the  apportionment 
appro.ximately  fair  so  as  to  find  out  wheth- 
er the  rate  of  "margin"  charged  on  each 
class  of  assistants  had  proved  to  be  sub- 
stantially correct.  Of  course,  it  is  neith- 
er practicable,  nor  fair,  to  fix  the  "margin" 
for  every  short  period  of  accounting,  so 
as  to  correspond  with  the  actual  overhead 
costs  of  that  period.  In  a  busy  season 
the  overhead  costs  are  apt  to  be  less  in 
proportion  to  the  cost  directly  charged  to 
each  job  and  vice-versa.  All  that  can  be 
reasonably  attempted  is  to  hit  a  fair  aver- 
age year  in  and  year  out. 

For  some  time  prior  to  1921  the  "mar- 
gins" for  meeting  overhead  expense  varied 
from  25  per  cent,  to  80  per  cent,  on  the  pay 
of  different  classes  of  assistants  for  those 
hours  during  which  their  time  is  directly 
chargeable  to  specific  work  orders,  the  80 
per  cent,  margin  applying  to  the  majority 
of  ordinary  office  assistants.  With  the 
relative  increase  in  overhead  costs  which 
came  with  the  post-war  deflation,  it  was 
found  necessary  to  increase  the  maximum 
"margin"  to  the  old  figure  of  100  per  cent, 
again.     Of  the  total  overhead   expenses 


about  one  quarter  is  charged  against  the 
personal  professional  services  of  the  firm 
as  representing  the  amount  of  rent,  etc., 
and  clerical  assistance,  etc.,  and  equip- 
ment, library,  etc.,  which  the  firm  would 
require  if  the  drafting  and  other  directly 
chargeable  assistants'  services,  together 
with  their  necessary  overhead  expenses, 
were  furnished  by  the  clients  themselves, 
as  they  are  in  the  case  of  some  well  or- 
ganized municipal  departments  which  we 
serve  in  a  consulting  capacity. 

A\'hen  we  see  that  with  the  margins 
charged  any  "department,"  other  than  the 
persona]  professional  services  of  the  firm, 
is  beginning  to  show  year  after  year  a 
continuing  loss,  or  a  "gain"  so  consider- 
able as  to  be  more  than  a  reasonable  as- 
surance against  occasional  losses,  we  en- 
deavor to  readjust  the  margins  more 
equitably. 

This  is  primarily  a  system  of  cost  ac- 
counting and  is  followed  for  our  own  in- 
formation even  in  those  cases  where  we 
contract  with  a  client  to  furnish  certain 
services  for  a  specified  lump  sum,  or 
within  an  agreed  maximum  cost.  It  en- 
ables us  to  know  with  tolerable  precision 
at  any  time  what  each  work  is  costing 
us,  including  its  fair  share  of  overhead 
expense. 

But  in  the  majority  of  cases  our  con- 
tracts with  clients  provide  for  charging 
a  fee  for  the  personal  services  of  the  firm, 
plus  expenses  as  actually  incurred  from 
time  to  time,  "expenses"  being  defined  as 
including  pay  of  assistants  together  with 
the  corresponding  share  of  overhead  ex- 
pense. We  are  then  substantially  in  the 
position  of  a  trusted  employee  on  a  sal- 
ary, who  either  employs  subordinates  in 
the  service  of  his  employer  at  his  em- 
ployer's expense  (without  profit  or  loss 
to  himself),  or  delegates  work  to  con- 
tractors, as  may  seem  most  advantageous 
to  his  employer. 

Under  this  system  we  feel  at  liberty 
and  our  clients  are  glad  to  have  us  feel  at 


1.36 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


liberty  to  send  our  own  assistants  to  a 
job,  and  have  them  stay  as  long  as  neces- 
sary, and  do  whatever  work  is  necessary 
in  the  client's  interest  to  get  the  desired 
results  if  that  seems  more  expedient  for 
the  client  than  having  such  work  done  by 
people  not  in  our  employ. 

We  do,  however,  systematically  try  to 
avoid  getting  our  organization  needlessly 
entangled  in  executive  work  which  can 
be  efficiently  done  by  others  and  which 
might  interfere  with  our  proper  profes- 
sional concentration  on  problems  of  de- 
sign. 

There  is  no  sense  in  a  pharisaical  at- 
titude of  adhering  mechanically  to  any 
single  precisely  defined  method  as  the 
sure  way  of  salvation,  and  of  regarding 
all  others  as  necessarily  "unclean."  The 
real  point  is  to  use  common  sense,  hon- 


esty, and  a  constant  scrutiny  of  the  eflfect 
and  tendency  of  one's  methods  in  the 
light  of  three  principles : 

1.  That  the  professional  landscape 
architect  assumes  a  fiduciary  obligation 
to  give  only  such  advice  and  take  only 
such  action  as  will  best  serve  the  client's 
legitimate  interests. 

2.  That  in  consonance  with  this  obli- 
gation he  must  avoid  putting  himself  in 
a  position  where  his  advice  or  actions 
might  be  influenced  adversely  to  his 
client's  interest  by  regard  for  his  own 
financial  interest  in  possible  speculative 
or  commercial  profits. 

3.  That  his  primary  function  is  de- 
sign, and  that  he  should  avoid  putting 
himself  in  a  position  likely  to  emphasize 
executive  or  managerial  functions  at  the 
expense  of  the  function  of  design. 


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OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


137 


COLLABORATION  BETWEEN   LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT 
AND  AN   ARCHITECT  OR  OTHER  PROFESSIONAL^^ 


In  this  kind  of  discussion,  everything 
depends  upon  the  point  of  view  from 
which  the  subject  is  approached ;  and 
that,  in  turn,  should  depend  upon  the  ob- 
ject of  the  evening's  exercises.  I  know 
not  whether  they  be  to  entertain  or  to  in- 
struct. 

If  the  object  of  the  evening  be  mainly 
entertainment,  the  subject  is  best  ap- 
proached from  the  respective  viewpoints 
of  the  architect  and  the  landscape  archi- 
tect as  such  ;  especially  that  point  of  view 
which  each  most  strongly  occupies  when 
fighting  for  his  bread  and  butter,  or  when 
fighting  for  those  "principles  of  sound 
professional  practice  and  high  artistic  en- 
deavor" which  happen  to  be  on  the  side 
the  bread  is  buttered  on. 

If,  however,  the  purpose  is  to  throw 
some  light  upon  the  subject  in  a  large 
way.  I  think  it  ought  to  be  ai)proached 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  client. 
Whatever  is  best  for  the  client  is,  in  the 
long  run,  best  for  the  professionals  who 
serve  him. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  client, 
it  is  utterly  immaterial  whether  the  per- 
son he  employs  to  help  him  get  what  he 
wants  happens  to  call  himself  an  archi- 
tect, or  a  landscape  architect,  or  an  en- 
gineer, or  a  sculptor,  or  a  gardener,  or 
plain  John  Smith.  Moreover,  unless  the 
job  is  a  very  small  one  and  the  client  em- 
ploys either  a  gardener  or  plain  John 
Smith,  he  must  engage  the  services,  not 


of  a  single  helper,  but  of  a  considerable 
number  of  collaborators,  some  of  whom 
are  expert  chiefly  with  the  pick  and 
shovel.  ."Ml  these  collaborators  must  be 
made,  by  some  means,  to  work  together, 
without  too  much  waste  of  efifort  and  too 
many  mistakes,  toward  a  unified  result, — 
unified  at  least  in  that  it  all  contributes 
to  the  satisfaction  of  the  client.  Every 
part  of  the  work  is  a  part  of  the  means 
to  that  one  end. 

The  fact  that  it  has  been  found  expedi- 
ent for  one  man  to  ])ut  up  the  lathing  on 
a  house,  and  for  another  man  to  apply  the 
jjlaster  or  the  stucco,  does  not  make  the 
client  regard  those  two  elements  of  con- 
struction in  the  least  degree  as  separate 
units ;  and  he  has  good  reason  for  a 
grouch  if  they  come  apart. 

When  it  comes  to  the  designers — to  the 
directors  of  mechanics — the  principle  is 
the  same.  If  the  job  is  so  simple  in  its 
design  and  technique  as  to  be  clearly  and 
completely  within  the  capacity  of  some 
one  designer  and  director,  whose  ability 
and  whose  limitations  the  client  really 
knows,  then  it  would  be  folly  to  compli- 
cate the  work  by  bringing  in  another.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  often  happens  that,  by 
reason  of  the  diversity  of  technique  in- 
volved in  solving  the  problem,  or  by  rea- 
son of  the  difficulty  or  obscurity  of  the 
esthetic  judgments  involved  in  deciding 
upon  the  design,  no  single  designer  is 
likely  to  get  the  best  results  if  he  relies 


*.\n  expansion  of  a  paper  read  before  a  meeting  of  the  Architectural   League  of  New  York,   De- 
cember 5.  1911,  by  Frederick  Law  Olmsted,  and  published  in  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE. 


138 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


upon  his  own  resources  alone.  Under 
such  circumstances,  collaboration  in  de- 
sign and  in  professional  direction  ought 
to  begin.  The  client,  if  he  knows  enough, 
may  impose  such  collaboration  as  a  con- 
dition from  the  start.  But,  in  case  he 
does  not,  a  conscientious  professional  ad- 
viser, when  called  upon  to  do  the  work 
alone,  will  advise  the  client  that  better 
results  are  to  be  secured  if  he  can  have 
associated  with  him  one  or  more  colla- 
borators. This  is  all  equally  true,  wheth- 
er the  client  first  turns  for  help  to  an 
architect,  to  a  landscape  architect,  to  an 
engineer,  or  to  an  experienced  amateur 
who  has  just  married  his  wife's  second 
cousin.  It  may  not  appear  at  the  start 
that  collaboration  is  advisable,  but  when- 
ever it  does  appear  the  need  should  be 
frankly  recognized. 

No  qualities  more  ruinously  impair  the 
value  of  a  professional  adviser  to  his 
clients,  or  more  directly  violate  the  basic 
principles  of  all  professional  ethics,  than 
the  mental  qualities  which  prevent  a  man 
from  saying  "I  don't  know ;"  which  lead 
him  to  abuse  the  faith  of  a  trusting  client 
by  undertaking,  and  pretending,  to  do 
what  he  is  not  properly  capable  of  doing. 
Some  do  this  through  blind  conceit ;  some 
through  a  sort  of  indecision,  and  a  feel- 
ing of  false  shame  at  owning  any  limits 
to  their  capacity ;  some,  unfortunately,  do 
it  out  of  sheer  cupidity — the  quacks  and 
semi-quacks  that  infest  every  profession. 

All  this,  perhaps,  is  beside  the  point. 
Every  one  will  agree  to  it.  The  real  ques- 
tion is,  when  collaboration  begins,  how  it 
can  be  most  expediently  conducted  in  or- 
der to  give  the  best  results  for  the  client. 
My  own  experience  points  to  the  follow- 
ing conclusions : 

When  any  designer  is  charged  with  the 
primary  responsibility  of  getting  certain 
complex  results  for  a  client,  and  need  is 
felt  for  the  collaboration  of  another  de- 
signer, the  simplest  relation  is  to  call  in 
the  latter  in  a  consulting  capacity,  simply 


as  a  critic  and  adviser.  The  consultant' 
takes  no  responsibility  for  results :  his 
connection  with  the  work  is  but  a  pre- 
cautionary measure.  It  is  still  assumed 
that  the  designer  is  able  to  carry  the 
whole  responsibility  in  a  competent  man- 
ner, but,  because  he  is  subject  to  ordin- 
ary human  frailty,  the  consultant  is  asked 
to  examine  his  designs  for  possible  un- 
observed defects,  to  examine  the  problem 
for  possible  unconsidered  factors,  and  to 
supply  from  his  experience  and  skill  vari- 
ous items  of  information  and  various  sug- 
gestions which  the  responsible  designer 
may  adopt,  if  his  judgment  so  dictates. 
The  consultant  answers,  as  well  as  he 
can,  any  questions  he  may  be  asked ;  he 
volunteers  any  suggestions  that  occur  to 
him  as  likely  to  improve  the  results ;  but 
he  does  not  undertake  foreseeing  that  all 
the  details  necessary  to  the  perfect  execu- 
tion of  the  end  in  view,  or  any  specified 
part  of  that  end,  have  been  and  will  be 
properly  provided  for.  That  is  the  duty 
of  the  responsible  designer;  and  he  can- 
not be  relieved  of  it  without  confusion. 

If  he  is  not  fitted  to  cope  with  the 
whole  of  that  duty  with  reasonable  as- 
surance of  attaining  the  degree  of  perfec- 
tion which  is  desired  (as  might  happen 
to  a  landscape  architect  charged  with  de- 
signing and  executing  a  public  park  in 
the  development  of  which  an  important 
and  monumental  building  or  bridge  be- 
came necessary,  or  to  an  architect 
charged  with  designing  a  building  in  con- 
nection with  which  serious  questions  of 
relation  to  surroundings,  or  of  treatment 
of  surroundings  arose),  a  collaborator 
should  be  called  in  not  merely  in  a  con- 
sulting capacity  but  in  the  capacity  of 
responsible  designer  for  certain  elements 
of  the  whole  design. 

This  brings  up  relationships,  which  of- 
ten give  rise  to  difficulties. 

In  any  case  where  two  or  more  pro- 
fessional men  collaborate  there  may  be  at 
least  three  kinds  of  relations,  any  one  of 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


139 


them  proper  and  suitable  under  certain 
circumstances ;  but  it  is  fundamentally 
imjiortant  that  there  should  be  a  clear 
understanding  in  each  case  as  to  just 
what  the  relations  are.  Failure  to  have 
a  clear  understanding  on  this  point  is  a 
frequent  cause  of  trouble;  and  it  is  the 
duty  of  each  of  the  professional  men  con- 
cerned in  any  undertaking  to  come  to  a 
clear  understanding  on  this  matter  frank- 
ly and  at  an  early  stage  of  their  relations, 
and  not  to  rely  too  much  upon  a  tacit  as- 
sumption that  the  others  are  of  his  own 
way  of  thinking. 

The  three  relations  to  which  I  refer  are 
these : 

1.  One  professional  man  may  employ 
another  (either  as  a  consultant  or  as  an 
assistant)  in  which  case  the  one  em- 
ployed, so  long  as  he  continues  to  accept 
such  employment,  is  responsible  directly 
to  the  other  and  subject  to  his  instruc- 
tions. If  he  cannot  with  respect  for  his 
own  professional  standards  accejJt  and 
follow  the  instructions  he  receives,  his 
normal  recourse  is  to  resign.  He  is  in  the 
position  of  any  other  temporary  employee 
e.xcept  so  far  as  his  contract  of  employ- 
ment sets  up  special  previsos. 

2.  One  professional  man  may  be 
charged  by  a  client  with  general  respon- 
sibility for  a  complex  piece  of  work  and 
another  (or  others)  may  also  be  employed 
directly  by  the  client,  with  the  assent  of 
the  former,  to  collaborate  with  him, 
either  on  the  whole  of  the  work,  or  on 
more  or  less  clearly  defined  parts  or  as- 
pects of  it.  subject  to  the  general  direc- 
tinn  (if  the  principal  designer  but  with 
the  duty  of  reporting  directly  to  the  client 
(with  the  knowledge  of  the  principal  de- 
signer) in  case  the  collaborator  disagrees 
with  the  principal  designer  over  a  matter 
which  the  collaborator  believes  to  be 
vital  to  the  success  of  the  work  or  of 
other  parts  or  aspects  of  it  to  which  his 
responsibility  extends.  I  have  known  of 
satisfactory    collaboration     of    this    sort 


with  an  engineer  as  principal  and  an 
architect,  a  landscape  architect,  a  sculp- 
tor, a  painter,  and  a  professional  realtor 
as  co-equal  subordinate  collaborators. 
The  appropriateness  of  this  method  de- 
pends on  the  job  and  the  man.  It  is  de- 
sirable to  have  a  tolerably  clear  under- 
standing in  advance  of  the  special  field  of 
responsibility  of  each  of  the  subordinate 
collaborators,  but  the  fact  remains  that 
there  is  one  chief  designer. 

3.  Two  or  more  professional  men  may 
be  employed  by  a  client  to  collaborate 
upon  a  complex  problem,  charged  with 
an  indeterminate  joint  responsibility  for 
the  success  of  the  whole,  without  making 
either  wholly  subordinate  to  the  other  but 
with  a  general  understanding  that  the 
prime  responsibility  of  one  is  for  one  part 
or  aspect  of  the  problem  and  that  of  the 
other  is  for  another  part  or  aspect. 

This  means  that,  particularly  in  those 
parts  or  aspects  of  the  problem  where 
their  respective  special  responsibilities 
merge  and  overlap,  no  designs  which  are 
not  acceptable  to  both,  and  accepted  by 
both,  shall  be  put  in  course  of  execution 
except  after  a  "show-down"  by  both  be- 
fore the  client  and  a  decision  by  him.  For 
the  good  of  the  work,  which  should  al- 
ways be  the  first  consideration,  it  is  not 
particularly  important  which  of  them 
draws  the  plans  for  a  particular  item  in 
the  borderland  of  their  respective  fields 
where  both  are  competent,  provided  both 
are  satisfied  with  the  plans  as  drawn  and 
accept  joint  responsibility  for  recommend- 
ing them  to  the  client.  If  either  is  seri- 
ously dissatisfied  with  the  plans  it  is  his 
duty  to  say  so,  in  order  that  the  client 
may  get  the  best  that  the  combination 
can  produce. 

This  is  a  method  which  tends  to  some 
delay  and  some  duplication  of  labor,  and 
is  not  satisfactorily  workable  unless  the 
client  is  prepared  to  pay  for  the  best  that 
the  combination  can  produce  ;  and  unless 
it  is  the  case  either  that  the  professional 


140 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


men  concerned  are  ready  collaborators 
and  put  the  interest  of  the  work  before 
self-seeking,  or  else  that  the  client  is  will- 
ing and  able  to  supply  an  unusual  amount 
of  skillful  coordinating  power.  But  un- 
der reasonably  favorable  conditions,  giv- 
en time  enough  and  the  disposition  to 
get  at  the  best  that  can  be  done,  no  other 
method  is  apt  to  yield  such  good  results 
on  a  problem  which  is  too  broad  to  be 
covered  with  complete  success  by  any 
one  of  the  collaborators  working  single 
handed. 

It  is  the  method  which  I  prefer  for  col- 
laboration, simply  because  it  does  make 
for  the  best  final  results ;  but  it  is  not  the 
only  one  nor  is  it  well  adapted  to  cases 
where  either  speed  or  cheapness  in  get- 
ting out  the  plans  is  of  prime  importance. 
Under  method  3  especially,  and  to  a 
less  extent  under  method  2,  it  is  import- 
ant to  establish  some  definite  delimita- 
tion of  the  field  within  which  each  col- 
laborator is  primarily  responsible,  and 
outside  of  which  his  relation  to  the  work 
approximates  that  of  the  consultant  only. 
In  most  cases,  the  only  clear  and  unmis- 
takable delimitation  of  such  a  field  of  ul- 
timate responsibility  is  a  territorial  de- 
limitation. If  John  Doe  is  ultimately  re- 
sponsible for  everything  which  is  done 
within  a  certain  defined  area,  there  can 
be  no  dodging  the  responsibiUty,  and  no 
falling  between  two  stools,  as  to  anything 
within  that  area;  and,  similarly,  as  to  the 
adjacent  area,  for  which  the  responsibili- 
ty rests  on  Richard  Roe.  It  is,  however, 
essential  that  such  an  arrangement  be 
supplemented  by  making  Richard  Roe  a 
consultant  as  regards  John  Doe's  field  of 
responsibility,  and  vice  versa,  and  by  fix- 
ing upon  both  the  joint  responsibility  for 
harmonizing  and  unifying  all  that  is  done 
on  both  sides  of  the  line. 

To  be  more  specific,  this  means:  (1) 
That  each  is  expected  and  required  to 
keep  the  other  fully  informed  as  to  what 
he  is  doing  and  planning  to  do,  inasmuch 


as  anything  done  on  one  side  of  the  line 
may  aiifect  directly  or  indirectly  what 
ought  to  be  done  on  the  other  side;  (2) 
That  each  must  take  pains  to  keep  him- 
self posted  as  to  what  the  other  is  doing 
and  planning  to  do,  and  must  hold  him- 
self responsible  (as  a  consultant)  for 
offering  suggestions  and  advice  about  the 
work  and  plans  of  the  other  whenever  he 
thinks  that  they  can  be  improved,  es- 
pecially in  their  relation  to  his  own  work ; 
(3)  That,  in  so  far  as  concerns  features 
which  appear  to  either  of  the  collabora- 
tors to  aflfect  in  a  vital  way  the  success 
of  the  whole,  if.  upon  discussion  of  sug- 
gestions, back  and  forth,  they  do  not  find 
themselves  in  substantial  agreement, 
they  should  explain  the  difference  to  the 
client,  clearly  patiently,  and  fairly,  to  get 
his  decision. 

The  snag  upon  which  collaborations 
not  infrequently  come  to  grief  is  a  tend- 
ency of  the  collaborators  to  stress  their 
individual  responsibilities  and  rights, 
rather  than  their  joint  responsibilities 
and  duties,  each  endeavoring  to  enlarge 
or  maintain  the  scope  of  his  own  peculiar 
responsibilities  at  the  expense  of  decreas- 
ing the  scope  of  responsibilities  peculiar 
to  another  collaborator.  There  is  some- 
times a  sordid  motive  in  this,  as  when  the 
compensation  of  one  or  more  of  the  col- 
laborators is  a  percentage  commission  on 
the  cost  of  "his"  parts  of  the  work.  With 
most  professional  men  of  good  standing 
I  think  this  is  seldom  a  conscious  motive 
of  much  importance  ;  a  desire  for  "kudos," 
a  natural  human  preference  for  being  in 
control,  and  a  tendency  to  put  a  high  es- 
timate on  one's  own  abilities,  supply  all 
the  motives  that  are  necessary  for  a 
grasping  attitude. 

But  where  the  entire  work  is  divided 
sharply,  for  the  purpose  of  computing 
their  respective  percentage  commissions 
into  Mr.  A's  part  and  Mr.  B's  part,  it 
tends  to  emphasize  the  element  of  separ- 
ateness   and   of   "every-man-for-himself," 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


141 


instead  of  the  element  of  real  collabora- 
tion and  of  temporary  partnership.  That 
is  why  I  prefer,  in  collaborating;  either 
with  an  architect  or  with  any  other  pro- 
fessional man,  to  avoid  the  separate  per- 
centage commission  basis  of  compensa- 
tion. Even  if  one  of  two  collaborators 
is  to  be  paid  on  a  percentage  basis  it  is 
much  better  that  the  other  should  not  be 
so  paid. 

Sujipose  an  operation  in  which  there  is 
a  major  architectural  element  for  which 
an  architect  is  primarily  rcs]:)onsible  and 
certain  other  elements  for  which  a  land- 
scape architect  is  primarily  responsible, 
while  there  are  various  minor  elements  of 
a  more  or  less  architectural  character 
within  or  interlocking  with  the  latter. 
These  minor  architectural  elements  ought 
to  harmonize  both  with  the  major  archi- 
tectural element  and  with  the  major  ele- 
ments of  the  landscape  design.  The 
plans  for  them  should  be  such  as  both 
collaborators  approve  without  qualifica- 
tion. I-'rom  the  client's  point  of  view  it 
is  immaterial  in  which  office  the  finally 
approved  drawings  for  them  are  made,  so 
long  as  the  above  essential  is  covered.  If 
those  who  have  drawn  the  plans  for  the 
major  architectural  element  can  and  will 
work  up  the  plans  for  these  minor  archi- 
tectural elements  of  the  landscape  scheme 
with  the  guidance  of  the  landscape  archi- 
tect and  to  his  satisfaction  without  too 
much  waste  of  effort,  there  are  obvious 
advantages  in  having  the  work  so  done, 
because  they  are  already  familiar  with 
the  spirit  and  quality  of  the  major  archi- 
tectural element.  In  the  case  of  ])lans  for 
parts  of  the  operation  in  which  the  value 
of  this  intimate  familiarity  with  the  prin- 
cipal architectural  work  is  less,  or  where 
the  difficulties  of  arriving  at  mutually 
satisfactory  detailed  plans  In-  this  method 
are  greater,  it  is  exiiedient  to  have  the 
plans  drawn  in  the  landscape  architect's 
office  with  the  guidance  of  the  architect 
and  to  his  satisfaction.   The  ideal  arrange- 


ment for  getting  out  plans  for  such  ele- 
ments of  design  as  lie  in  this  borderland 
of  over-lapping  professional  responsibili- 
ties is  therefore  one  in  which  each  of  the 
responsible  designers  is  paid  a  fee  for 
his  services  in  the  joint  work  and  the  ser- 
vices of  draftsmen  are  paid  for  as  used, 
leaving  the  responsible  designers  free  to 
use  their  best  judgment  as  the  work  de- 
velops, assigning  to  each  particular  piece 
of  work  any  draftsman  in  either  office 
who  happens  to  be  the  best  man  for  it 
under  the  circumstances.  The  nearer  the 
arrangements  come  in  practice  to  those 
of  a  temporary  partnership  which  uses  to 
the  full  the  abilities  of  both  offices  as 
though  they  were  one.  the  better  it  will 
be  for  the  result. 

In  such  collaborative  work  I  personally 
don't  care  two  straws,  on  general  prin- 
ciples, whether  drawings  for  minor  archi- 
tectural elements  are  made  in  the  archi- 
tect's office  or  my  own.  All  I  want  is  to 
get  the  best  results  at  a  reasonable  cost 
to  the  client.  Where  I  think  those  re- 
sults can  best  be  secured  by  having  them 
drawn  in  my  office  and  then  revised  un- 
der the  architect's  criticism  until  they 
suit  us  both  I  say  so  frankly  and  give  my 
reasons.  If  they  are  good  reasons  they 
generally  convince  a  good  architect.  If 
they  are  not  good  reasons  I  am  ready  to 
be  convinced  and  to  ask  him  to  work  up 
the  drawings  in  his  office  to  my  satisfac- 
tion. 

If  in  any  discussion  of  methods  the  in- 
terests (if  the  client  in  the  particular  case 
at  issue  are  emphasized  as  the  criterion, 
there  is  seldom  much  trouble.  Trouble 
comes  mainly  from  selfishness  on  the  part 
of  one  or  both  collaborators. 

The  only  safe  rules  are :  first,  that  the 
relations  of  the  collaborators  should  be 
adapted  in  each  particular  case  to  the  cir- 
cumstances of  that  case  in  the  best  in- 
terests of  the  client ;  and  second  that 
there  should  be  a  clear  understanding  be- 


142 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


tween  the  collaborators  and  the  client  as 
to  what  the  relations  are  to  be. 

The  workability  of  any  method  of  col- 
laboration depends  upon  the  personal 
qualities  of  the  collaborators ;  they  must 
have  a  reasonable  equipment  of  tact,  of 
sympathetic  insight,  and  of  mutual  re- 
spect. There  are  some  people  who  can 
only  play  a  lone  hand.  I  know  certain 
architects  and  engineers  and  other  pro- 
fessional men  of  considerable  personal 
ability  with  whom  I  should  refuse  to  at- 
tempt any  collaboration,  because  they  are, 
personally,  so  constituted  that  they  can 
not, or  will  not, honestly  try  to  cooperate. 
They  are  "rule  or  ruin"  men. 

Rut,  assuming  the  necessary  personal 
qualities,  cooperation  can  best  be  carried 
on,  in  my  opinion,  when  the  relations  are 
defined  in  one  of  the  ways  above  set 
forth :  A  collaborator  must  either  be  pure- 
ly a  consultant,  with  no  responsibilitj- 
beyond  giving  advice  and  answering 
questions,  with  no  responsibility  of 
initiative,  with  no  responsibility  for  en- 
suring the  final  results :  or  else  he  must 
be  the  responsible  designer  of  some  de- 
fined entity,  of  all  that  comes  within  a 
certain  boundary,  and  at  the  same  time  be 
made  a  consultant  as  to  all  related  parts 
of  the  whole  design. 

Almost  anybody  who  has  the  money, 
whether  he  be  an  architect,  an  engineer, 
a  landscape  architect,  or  a  mere  com- 
mercial exploiter  of  money-making  op- 
portunities, can  hire  as  assistants  men  of 
a  high  degree  of  competence  in  any  field 
he  chooses.  But  that  does  not  justify 
him,  as  a  professional  man,  without  ex- 
plicit warning  to  his  client,  in  assuming 
the  sole  professional  responsibility  for 
work  of  a  sort  which  is  beyond  his  own 
power  to  comprehend  and  skillfully  guide 
in  all  its  details.  The  man  who  takes 
such  responsibilities  may  i)ose  as  a  pro- 
fessional man,  but  in  reality  he  is,  in  so 
far,  a  quack. 

I  may  add,  since  it  is  easier  and  much 


more  interesting  to  pluck  the  mote  from 
another  man's  eye  than  the  beam  from 
one's  own,  that  some  architects  often  do 
assume  responsibilities  in  regard  to  land- 
scape work,  which,  as  individuals,  they 
appear  very  ill  fitted  to  carry  out  suc- 
cessfully. There  is  nothing  in  the  fact 
that  a  man  is  an  architect  that  should,  in 
itself,  interfere  with  his  becoming  a  com- 
petent landscape  architect  also,  any  more 
than  there  is  any  reason  why  the  reverse 
should  not  take  place;  but,  ars  longa. 
And  the  simple  fact  is  that  the  instances 
are  few  in  which  both  fields  are  well  cov- 
ered. The  infrequency  of  a  successful 
union  of  these  two  professions  in  the 
same  individual  is  rather  surprising,  in 
A'iew  of  the  closeness  and  frequent  over- 
lapping of  their  fields  and  the  vagueness 
of  the  boundary  which  separates  them. 
It  remains  surprising,  even  after  due  con- 
sideration of  the  bigness  of  the  range  of 
technical  information  required  for  each  of 
the  professions.  And  I  believe  this  in- 
frequency is  partly  due  to  a  radical  dift'er- 
ence  in  the  point  of  view  which  is  normal 
to  the  two  professions,  a  difference  which 
is  apt  to  be  inborn  in  different  individ- 
uals, but  which  is  clearly  emphasized  and 
cultivated  by  differences  in  the  general 
run  of  problems  which  are  presented  to 
the  architect  and  to  the  landscape  archi- 
tect respectively. 

Normally,  the  architect  deals  with  ma- 
terials which  he  is  required  to  shape  into 
a  result  that  shall  be  perfect,  complete 
and  final,  as  it  leaves  his  hand — a  thing 
expected  to  remain  thenceforth  substan- 
tially unchanged  until  its  day  is  done. 

Normally,  the  landscape  architect  deals 
with  materials  which  he  is  required  to 
shape  into  a  kind  of  organism  that  grows 
and  changes,  and,  with  the  aid  of  those 
who  control  it,  continues  for  an  indefinite 
time  constantly  to  readapt  itself  to  new 
factors  of  its  environment.  A  normal, 
healthy-minded  architect  rebels  at  the 
necessity  of  waiting  for  growth  in  land- 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


143 


scape  work.  He  is  impatient  to  "get  his 
effect"  at  once.  He  rebels  at  the  require- 
ments of  so  planning  his  work  that  the 
effect  will  be  good  under  successive  or 
alternative  conditions  of  growth  which 
can  be  foreseen  only  in  general  terms.  He 
wholly  fails  to  grasp  that  the  aim  in  most 


landscape  work  is  not  a  single  fixed 
"effect,"  conceived  as  immutable  but  real- 
ly only  momentary.  The  normal  aim  of 
landscape  architecture  is  the  whole  sum 
of  effects,  as  seen  through  changing  sea- 
sons and  years  in  the  whole  life  history 
of  a  living  design. 


144 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


THE  CASCADE  IN  VILLA  TORLONIA  AT  FRASCATr 


Villa  Torlonia,  formerly  Villa  Conti, 
like  the  other  villas  at  Frascati,  is  built 
upon  the  slope  of  a  hill  and  commands  a 
broad  view  of  the  Roman  Campagna  with 
Rome  and  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  in  the 
distance.  The  private  part  of  the  villa 
is  to  the  rear  of  the  house  and  above  the 
ornamental  stairway.  It  consists  of  a 
large  dense  grove  of  ilex,  bay,  Viburnum 
Tinus,  butcher's  broom  (Sarcococca)  and 
English  ivy,  and  is  interlaced  with  broad 
dirt  paths  at  right  angles  to  each  other 
with  beautiful  fountains  at  their  inter- 
sections. As  is  seen  in  early  prints  these 
paths  were  formerly  bordered  by  high 
hedges  but  now  no  trace  of  these  re- 
mains. On  the  main  axis  of  the  stairway 
a  broad  central  path  leads  through  the 
bosco  or  woodland  to  the  cascade,  the 
chief  feature  of  the  villa.  In  comparison, 
the  water  in  the  cascade  in  the  Villa  Al- 
dobrandini  is  swifter  and  there  is  more 
the  feeling  of  a  swift  stream.  The  broad 
central  path  leading  to  the  cascade  term- 
inates in  a  large  open  area  in  front  of 
the  long  arcade  which  serves  as  a  retain- 
ing wall  to  the  slope  upon  which  the  wa- 
terfall is  built.  The  arcade  is  ornamented 
with  niches  each  of  which  contains  a 
mask  which  spouts  water  into  the  vase 
below  and  then  empties  into  a  long  nar- 
row basin  in  front  of  the  retaining  wall. 
In  the  center  of  the  retaining  wall  and 
on  axis  with  the  main  approaching  alley 
the  water  from  several  fountains  falls  over 
a  great  baroque  pile  of  rock-work  into  a 
large  semi-circular  pool.  Two  small 
stone   bridges,   one   on   each   side   of   the 


semi-circular  pool,  lead  to  a  tunneled 
passage  which  affords  an  approach  to  the 
terrace  above  and  the  cascade.  The  cas- 
cade occupies  an  opening  in  the  trees  and 
consists  of  a  series  of  basins  emptying 
one  into  the  other.  On  either  side  a  wall 
and  stairway  follows  the  curve  of  the  cas- 
cade. At  regular  intervals  in  the  stair- 
way small  seats  are  placed  in  the  wall, 
which  give  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  the 
cool  shade  and  the  play  of  the  running 
water.  The  stairway  leads  to  the  upper 
terrace  which  consists  of  a  large  circular 
opening  in  the  natural  woodland  of  the 
villa.  Paths  radiate  from  this  opening 
and  stone  seats  afford  a  resting  place 
under  the  deep  shade  of  the  ilex.  In  this 
area  directly  above  the  cascade  a  stone 
paved  platform  bounded  on  three  sides 
by  a  balustrade  serves  as  an  overlook  for 
the  waterfall.  In  the  center  of  the  large 
opening  in  the  woodland  a  great  balus- 
traded  pool,  connected  to  the  overlook 
by  means  of  a  cobbled  paved  area,  serves 
as  a  reservoir  for  the  water  supply.  One 
broad  step  encircles  the  pool  around  the 
base  of  the  balustrade  and  allows  one  to 
stand  close  to  it  in  order  to  look  over  in- 
to the  deep  clear  water  within,  upon 
which  is  reflected  the  nearby  ilex  trees 
of  the  wood.  At  the  base  of  this  step  a 
narrow  strip  of  stone  cobble  paving 
served  as  a  finish  to  the  step  and  a  tran- 
sition from  the  architecture  to  the  sur- 
rounding dirt  path.  Little  of  this  paving 
now  exists,  but  it  offers  a  good  example 
of  how  the  early  architects  felt  the 
necessity    of    sotting    of    architecture    or 


♦Selected  from  Report  of  Edward  Lavvson,  Fellow  in  Landscape  Architecture,  American 
Academy  in  Rome,  and  published  by  permission  of  the  President  of  the  American  Society  of 
Landscape  Architects. 


THE  LIBRIUM 
OF  THE 


THE  mmi 

OF  TIE 

'.'■"'.'JH?-;'" 


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CASCADE-IN-VILLA-TOKLONIA 

•     FRASCATI       NEAR      ROME      • 


L 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


145 


blending  it  with  nature.  In  the  balus- 
trade around  the  reservoir  pool  each  post 
is  richly  carved  with  a  mask  on  the  side 
facing  the  pool  and  each  has  on  the  top 
a  circular  basin.  Originally  the  water 
was  brought  up  through  the  post  and 
formed  a  small  fountain  jet  which  split 
over  into  these  circular  basins.  It  was 
then  carried  down  through  the  post  and 
reappeared  from  the  mouths  of  the 
masks,  which  emptied  into  the  pool. 
These  fountains  are  no  longer  in  use  but 
the  lead  pipes  are  still  visible. 

The  water  which  feeds  this  scheme  has 
been  brought  through  an  aqueduct  from 
Monte  Algido  near  Monte  Cavo,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  twelve  miles.  It  first  ap- 
pears in  a  huge  fountain  in  the  reservoir 
and  then  is  carried  underground  to  the 
top  of  the  cascade  where  it  pours  out  of 
a  large  stone  mask  (five  feet  across)  in- 
to a  pool  below.  It  overflows  from  this 
pool  onto  an  inclined  rough  tiled  plat- 
form or  shelf,  which  creates  a  playful 
surface  to  the  water,  into  a  large  oval 
basin  below,  where  it  is  again  at  rest. 
This  basin  overflows  onto  another  in- 
clined plane  and  so  the  process  is  repeat- 
ed until  it  reaches  the  last  pool  of  the 
waterfall.  Here  it  is  taken  underground 
across  the  terrace  and  part  of  it  reappears 
in  a  fan-like  fountain  gushing  forth  from 
the  mouth  of  a  stone  eagle  which  rests 
upon  the  top  of  the  retaining  well,  and 
falls  into  the  semi-circular  pool  below. 
Originally  part  of  the  water  from  the 
cascade  formed  fountains  in  the  vases 
which  still  remain  on  top  of  the  cornice 
of  the  retaining  wall.  These  fountains 
are  no  longer  in  operation  and  the  vases 
are  instead  planted  with  aloes.     The  re- 


mainder of  the  water  from  the  cascade 
is  used  to  supply  the  masks  and  fountain 
vases  in  the  niches  in  the  arcade  (not 
any  of  these  masks  and  only  a  few  of  the 
fountain  vases  are  now  in  working  order) 
and  a  large  fountain  which  spouts  from 
a  mask  laid  upon  a  pile  of  stones  in  the 
large  semi-circular  pool.  A  small  rect- 
angular hole  in  the  top  of  the  retaining 
wall,  just  under  the  eagle,  serves  as  an 
emergency  outlet  for  the  water  in  case 
the  fountains  are  not  in  running  order. 
From  the  large  pool  in  front  of  the  ar- 
cade the  water  is  again  carried  under- 
ground to  feed  the  various  fountains 
throughout  the  villa  proper. 

As  has  been  said,  the  cascade  is  ap- 
proached by  a  central  axial  path  through 
the  dense  woodland  and  the  first  sight  of 
it  is  through  a  vista  in  the  trees.  If  seen 
in  the  morning  light  the  effect  is  es- 
pecially pleasing  and  the  contrast  of  the 
light  and  shade  due  to  the  distribution 
of  the  open  areas,  and  the  dark  shade  of 
the  woodland  enhance  the  picture — the 
whole  effect  is  grey  and  green.  There  is 
a  perfect  blending  between  the  softness 
of  the  vegetation  and  that  of  the  moss 
covered  architecture.  Even  the  scale,  de- 
tail and  forms  of  the  architecture  seem 
to  be  re-echoed  in  the  soft  grey-green 
forms  of  the  ilex — one  appears  to  be 
created  for  the  other.  The  effect  pro- 
duced by  the  contrast  of  sunlight  and 
deep  shadows  and  the  coolness  of  the 
clear  sparkling  water,  partly  covered 
with  bright  green  water  plants  and  moss, 
together  with  the  subtle  blending  of  the 
architectural  forms  with  the  green, 
creates  a  setting  of  quiet  and  restfulness 
and  there  is  an  enchantment  undescrib- 
able. 


146 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


BOSTON  ZOOLOGICAL  PARK' 


Reprinted  from  "Landscape  Architecture" 


About  thirty  years  ago,  the  late  Fred- 
erick Law  Olmsted  prepared  a  detailed 
working  plan  for  Franklin  Park  in  Bos- 
ton. The  execution  of  this  plan  was  car- 
ried out  in  large  measure  during  Olm- 
sted's lifetime,  but  the  portion  of  the 
park  along  Seaver  Street  was  left  largely 
unfinished,  and  is  today  practically  un- 
developed, with  the  exception  that  the 
woodlands  have  been  improved  and  the 
grasslands  cared  for.  This  territory  was 
set  apart  for  a  collection  of  native 
animals,  together  with  a  deer  park  and  a 
Little  Folks'  Fair,  in  which  were  to  be 
Merry-go-Rounds,  Donkej^  Trains,  and 
other  amusements  for  children.  At  dif- 
ferent times  during  the  last  thirty  years, 
various  movements  have  been  put  on  foot 
to  establish  a  permanent  zoological  col- 
lection in  this  portion  of  the  park.  Un- 
fortunately, none  of  these  schemes  have 
materialized  for  want  of  funds.  Of  late 
the  project  for  a  zoo  has  been  reawaken- 
ed, and  active  construction  work  has  been 
undertaken  under  moneys  secured  from 
the  recent  Parkman  Bequest. 

In  this  age  of  great  zoological  collec- 
tions, it  has  seemed  best  to  provide  a 
more  complete  collection  of  animals  than 
that  contemplated  by  Olmsted.  The  ex- 
perience of  many  cities  of  this  country 
has  shown  that  the  public  are  not  satis- 
fied with  a  collection  of  native  animals, 
but  require  as  a  supplement  the  well- 
known  animals  of  the  tropics.  It  is  con- 
templated at  Boston  to  include  specimens 
from  all  parts  of  the  world,  although  re- 
taining, also,  a  large  collection  of  animals 
which  will  thrive  in  our  climate  during 
the  winter  season  out-of-doors. 


It  should  be  carefully  noted  that  the 
zoo  is  not  placed  at  random  in  the  park, 
but  in  a  position  where  it  will  do  no 
violence  to  the  quiet  landscapes  of  the 
composition,  which  need  to  be  protected 
in  a  substantial  way  from  the  distrac- 
tions of  a  zoological  collection.  This 
separation  is  effected  by  heights  of  land, 
walls  and  by  heavy  plantings  of  high 
woodland.  That  portion  of  the  original 
plan  which  provided  for  an  extensive 
Alameda,  or  "Greeting,"  has  been  modi- 
fied to  meet  the  modern  requirements. 
In  the  old  days,  this  "greeting"  was  in- 
tended to  provide  a  meeting-place  for 
persons  frequenting  the  park  in  carriages. 
In  recent  years,  the  use  of  carriages 
for  pleasure  purposes  has  been  reduced 
almost  to  nothing,  and  it  seemed  un- 
wise to  construct  the  "greeting"  for  its 
original  purpose.  The  position  of  the  zoo 
contemplates  a  wide  mall  of  grass  in 
place  of  the  original  footways  and  car- 
riageways, forming  an  imposing  panel, 
planted  with  rows  of  trees  and  measuring 
in  width  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and 
in  length  upward  of  half  a  mile. 

The  scheme  of  the  zoo  is  shown  on  the 
general  plan  (Fig.  1).  This  scheme  is 
naturally  divided  by  the  contour  of  the 
ground  into  two  parts — one  of  a  natural- 
istic character  on  ground  of  so  rugged  a 
contour  that  a  formal  layout  was  impos- 
sible ;  and  the  other  of  a  symmetrical 
character  on  the  level  ground,  which  was 
designed  originally  for  the  "greeting." 
The  naturalistic  scheme  is  unified  by  a 
central  path  which  meanders  to  fit  the 
contour  of  the  ground  and  to  display  the 
collection  on  its  margins,  intended  to  ac- 


K\  paper  by  A.  A,  Shurtleff. 


'■■r^J: 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


147 


commodate  the  smaller  animals  like  the 
raccoon,  puma,  lynx,  beaver  and  jirairie- 
dog,  together  with  a  large  collection  of 
bears,  Alpaca  goats,  llama  and  deer.  The 
cages  are  carefully  screened  from  the  ad- 
joining streets  and  playgrounds  and  may 
be  viewed  only  from  one  side.  Especial 
pains  are  taken  to  provide  backgrounds 
for  each  cage.  Behind  the  dens,  service 
paths  and  storage  accommodations  are 
provided,  to  which  the  public  are  not  ad- 
mitted. The  naturalistic  group  is  con- 
nected with  the  formal  scheme  by  a  large 
foot-bridge,  which  spans  one  of  the  main 
driveway  entrances  of  the  park  and  pre- 
vents undesirable  and  dangerous  ming- 
ling of  carrage  and  foot  traffic.  This 
bridge  forms  an  attractive  gateway  to  the 
new  mall,  but,  for  obvious  reasons,  it 
cannot  be  arranged  upon  the  a.xis  of  the 
scheme. 

The  "greeting,"  centers  in  a  great  cen- 
tral carriage  circle  already  partly  con- 
structed. Gateways  and  other  architect- 
ural features  adorn  this  end  of  the  panel. 
Buildings  are  to  be  provided  for  birds, 
reptiles,  antelope,  bison,  lions,  primates, 
and  for  the  administration  of  the  zoo.  A 
definite  line  of  setback  is  arranged  for 
these  edifices,  which  are  to  be  made  sub- 
ordinate to  the  great  mall,  and  which 
must  not  be  of  such  height  as  to  become 
conspicuous  objects  in  the  great  play- 
steads  and  open  landscapes  of  the  park 
itself.  The  Administration  Building 
has  ample  yards  adjoining  it  for  the  re- 
ception of  animals,  for  shipping,  or  hous- 
ing of  wagons  and  implements,  and  for 
storing  and  handling  food.  This  admin- 
istrative work  is  assisted  by  the  "Valley 
Road," — a  thoroughfare  designed  thirty 
years  ago  for  a  traffic  short-cut  across  the 
park,  and  which  may  consequently  be 
used  constantly  by  service  wagons  of  the 
zoo  without  intrusion  upon  pleasure 
driveways. 

Thus  far  the  actual  construction  work 
has  been  confined  to  an  herbaceous  gar- 


den, to  extensive  bears'  dens,  to  a  large 
flying-cage,  and  to  a  bird-house.  Grad- 
ing and  planting  work  in  connection  with 
these  features  is  also  under  way.  A  gen- 
eral scheme  for  the  arrangement  of  bears' 
dens  is  shown  in  Fig.  2.  This  scheme 
provides  for  ample  shelter  dens,  and  for 
cages  which  face  upon  a  semi-circular 
concourse  approached  by  a  wide  stair- 
case. Spectators  are  to  view  the  bears 
over  a  marginal  fillet  of  shrubbery,  and 
through  a  heavy  cage  fence,  which  is 
capped  with  a  wide  steel  hood  in  place  of 
the  usual  teasers.  A  detail  of  this  con- 
struction is  shown  in  Fig  3.  This  hood 
is  intended  to  afford  shade  to  the  cage 
floors,  and  at  the  same  time  to  reduce  the 
array  of  bayonet-like  teasers,  which  are 
usually  so  conspicuous  and  objectionable 
a  feature  in  dens  of  this  kind.  These 
hooded  tops  are  supported  upon  slender 
iron  columns  and  follow  a  perfectly  hori- 
zontal course,  independent  of  the  slope  of 
the  ground.  The  hoods  abut  against  high 
masonry  cyclopean  walls,  which  are 
pierced  with  simple  openings  covered 
with  heavy  stone  lintels.  No  attempt  is 
made  to  secure  naturalistic  effects  in 
these  structures.  The  floors  of  the  dens 
are  covered  with  granolithic  slabs  raised 
on  piers  of  concrete,  so  giving  a  continu- 
ous air-space  underneath,  to  allow  for  the 
growth  of  roots  of  trees  which  stand  in 
the  dens.  Water  is  provided  freely  in 
four  large  basins  with  inclines,  and  hy- 
drants are  liberally  installed  for  washing 
the  dens.  The  first  plans  showed  rather 
a  natural  or  rustic  treatment  for  the 
dens,  but  it  was  seen  that  they  could  not 
be  kept  thoroughly  sanitary  with  such 
rough  floors,  and  the  wall-surfaces  fur- 
nished the  bears  foothold  for  escape.  So 
it  seemed  better  to  use  a  style  of  masonry 
which  was  frankly  substantial,  and  suited 
not  less  to  the  safety  of  the  public  than 
to  cleanliness  of  the  dens.  No  pains  have 
been  spared,  however,  in  the  final  de- 
signs,  to  secure   agreeable   backgrounds, 


148 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


liberal  expanses  of  water  for  bathing,  fine 
boulders  and  massive  tree-trunks  for 
intermediate  decoration,  and  to  provide 
the  bears  with  opportunities  to  disport 
themselves  despite  the  requirements  of 
enclosure  and  sanitation. 

In  the  great  flying-cage,  shown  in  its 
final  form  in  Fig  4,  it  seemed  thorough- 
ly practical  to  use  a  naturalistic  treat- 
ment. A  fine  background  is  secured  by 
an  artificial  clifif  having  a  grotto  which 
forms  a  source  of  water-supply,  from 
which  streams  and  lagoons  are  led  over 
the  floor  of  the  cage  in  a  way  to  preserve 
important  trees,  and  to  conform  with 
the  irregular  surface  of  the  ground.  The 
margin  of  the  cage  is  uniformly  level,  but 
the  center  rises  and  falls  as  the  trees  and 
ground   conditions  require. 

The  actual  construction  of  the  bird 
flying-cage  is  shown  in  Figs.  5,  6  and  7. 
Details  will  be  found  on  these  sheets  for 
the  iron  gates  to  be  used  by  wagons  en- 
tering the  cage  for  cleaning  purposes  or 
to  deliver  sand  for  the  beaches,  sod, 
shrubbery,  loam  and  other  materials.  The 
construction  of  the  sand  beaches  upon  an 
underlying  sheet  of  concrete,  which  per- 
mits the  replacement  of  the  sand  as  it 
becomes  fouled,  and  the  relation  of  the 
boulders  on  the  edge  of  the  pools  to  this 
concrete  water  treatment,  are  shown  in 
some  detail.  For  practical  purposes,  it 
is  absolutely  essential  to  protect  all  wa- 
ter margins  and  all  water  bottoms  in  this 
manner  with  concrete,  to  insure  whole- 
some living-conditions  for  the  birds,  and 
maintenance  at  moderate  cost.  Were  the 
pools  built  of  gravel  and  loam,  the  near- 
by trees  would  shortly  die  from  drown- 
ing by  water-seepage  through  the  inter- 
vening soil,  and  the  pools  and  their  mar- 
gins would  soon  become  clouded  and 
fouled  by  mud  and  filth.  The  hiding- 
places  provided  in  the  rockwork  for 
pelicans  and  other  birds,  the  shelves  for 
perching  birds  and  for  the  reception  of 
sods  and  shrubbery,  the  continuous  plat- 


form for  plantations  along  the  top  of  the 
wall  of  hanging  vines,  shrubbery,  and 
small  trees,  are  all  shown  on  these  plates. 
These  drawings  also  indicate  a  system  of 
water-supply  for  washing  purposes,  feed- 
ing-platforms, and  fences  and  planting 
to  keep  the  public  at  a  proper  distance. 

The  relation  between  the  flying-cage 
already  constructed  and  the  bird-house 
which  is  to  be  erected,  and  their  com- 
bined relation  to  an  artificial  pond,  to  a 
lawn  for  displaying  peacocks,  and  to  the 
"Greeting,"  are  shown  in  Fig.  8.  The 
somewhat  novel  relation  of  these  parts 
to  one  another  is  required  by  the  contour 
of  the  ground  and  by  the  existence  of  the 
playstead,  its  adjoining  roadways,  and 
Glen  Road.  The  bird-house  and  flying- 
cage  stand  in  a  grove  of  oak  trees,  which 
properly  shelter  them  from  the  sun  and 
prevent  their  forming  too  conspicuous  a 
feature  in  the  park.  Mr.  William  D. 
Austin,  of  Boston,  is  the  architect  of  the 
bird-house.  A  flying-cage  for  eagles  and 
vultures  will  soon  be  erected  to  com- 
plete the  bird  group.  Leading  to  the 
elephant-house  are  to  be  parrots  and 
cockatoos,  on  individual  stands,  in  re- 
cesses along  the  pathway. 

An  attractive  herbaceous  garden  forms 
a  part  of  the  construction  work  already 
under  way,  and  occupies  a  shallow  dell 
behind  the  future  lion-house  and  sep- 
arated from  it  by  an  extensive  pergola. 
This  garden  has  been  worked  out  in  its 
details  by  Mr.  John  A.  Pettigrew,  late 
superintendent  of  the  Park  System.  It 
embodies  a  collection  of  herbaceous 
plants  flowering  from  early  spring 
through  the  summer  until  late  autumn. 
Lagoons  are  provided  for  the  growth  of 
water-plants,  and  the  whole  scheme  is 
backed  up  by  a  planting  of  oak  trees 
averaging  about  twenty-five  feet  in 
height,  which  gives  seclusion  from  the 
noise  and  traffic  of  Seaver  Street. 

The  installation  of  the  zoo  has  made 
necessary  the  laying  of  extensive  water- 


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OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


149 


mains  and  sewers.  Outfalls  were  for- 
tunately at  hand  in  neighboring  streets, 
and  water  could  be  had  near-by. 

Among  other  experts,  the  commission 
had  consulted  Mr.  William  T.  Hornaday, 
Director  of  the  New  York  Zoological 
Park :  Dr.  Baker,  of  the  National  Zoo- 
logical Park  at  Washington ;  and  em- 
ployed Mr.  J.  T.  Benson  to  advise  re- 
garding the  housing  of  the  animals.  Mr. 
C.    E.    Putnam,    under    the   late    superin- 


tendent, Mr.   Pettigrew.  has  worked  out 
many  of  the  details  of  construction. 

The  commissioners  under  whom  this 
work  has  been  forwarded,  and  who  have 
given  their  personal  attention  to  it  and 
have  contributed  many  of  the  most  im- 
portant features  of  the  scheme,  are:  Rob- 
ert S.  Peabody,  Chairman,  James  N. 
Prendergast  (lately  resigned).  Daniel  H. 
Coakley,  D.   Henry  Sullivan. 


150 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


THE  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT  IN  CITY 
PLANNING* 

Reprinted  from  "Landscape  Architecture" 


Mr.  Chairman  and  Members  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Landscape  Architects :  My  topic 
is  the  landscape  architect  in  city  plan- 
ning. We  all  like  to  be  appreciated,  and 
I  am  going  to  try  to  appreciate  you  for 
a  few  minutes. 

It  certainly  is  refreshing  to  talk  about 
city  planning  to  a  group  of  men  who  do 
not  have  to  be  shown.  Usually  it  is  quite 
the  other  way,  and  you  don't  know  what 
a  relief  it  is  not  to  be  on  the  defensive  in 
this  matter,  not  to  have  to  explain  every- 
thing, not  to  have  to  answer  the  usual 
things  that  are  said  about  city  planning 
as  an  expensive  luxury. 

We  must  recognize  that  the  subject 
has  made  an  astonishing  advance  in  the 
United  States,  an  advance  that  is  reflect- 
ed in  our  own  Commonwealth  by  the 
existence  of  planning  boards  in  forty  of 
its  cities  and  towns.  And  yet,  in  spite 
of  this  progress,  we  still  must  expect 
even  from  a  fairly  intelligent  citizen  a 
rather  curious  reaction  on  the  subject  of 
city  planning.  This  is  so  even  among  the 
members  of  city  and  town  departments, 
and  it  is  true  also  of  the  members  of 
planning  boards  composed  very  often  of 
the  representative  men  of  the  city  or 
town.  As  Secretary  of  the  City  Planning 
Conference,  I  spend  much  time  and  ink 
on  letters  of  explanation,  only  to  be  ad- 
dressed by  my  correspondents  and  intro- 
duced occasionally  to  an  audience  as 
Secretary  of  City  Planting;  and  that 
phrase  always  strikes  me  as  savoring 
rather  of  the  obsequies  of  the  city  than  of 


a  city  which  is  really  alive  and  ready  to 
go  about  its  proper  development  in  a 
proper  way. 

My  first  feeling,  then,  is  one  of  real  ap- 
preciation of  men  who  know  the  value  of 
planning,  of  men  who  are  really  doing 
the  city  planning,  and,  Mr.  Chairman,  of 
the  men  who  are  teaching  future  city 
planners. 

In  the  National  Conference,  we  have 
liad  a  great  deal  of  help  from  members 
of  your  profession.  In  the  first  place, 
your  profession  has  furnished  more  mem- 
bers of  the  National  Conference  than  any 
other  profession,  and  more  members  of 
the  kind  that  are  worth  while,  worth 
more  than  the  $5  annual  fee — the  kind  of 
members  who  are  active  in  suggestion ; 
and  it  is  suggestion  that  is  very  much 
needed  in  city  planning  today.  Although 
the  ideas  of  city  planning  are  generally 
pretty  definite,  they  have  to  be  dealt 
with  in  a  way  far  different  than  in  the 
intelligent  working  out  of  just  one  prob- 
lem. iUit,  even  greater  than  that,  your 
society  has  furnished  the  president  of  the 
City  Planning  Conference.  Since  1910, 
Mr.  Frederick  Law  Olmsted  has  been  the 
l^resident  or  the  chairman  of  the  execu- 
tive committee,  and,  as  it  now  seems,  has 
given  all  too  liberally  of  his  precious 
time.  The  formative  years  of  the  work 
have  made  great  demands  on  him.  The 
field  was  new ;  policies  had  to  be  deter- 
mined ;  difficulties  which  were  far  more 
than  oral  had  to  be  threshed  out.  If  I 
may  for  a  moment  use  biblical  language. 


*.'\ddrcss   before   the   American   Society   of   Landscape   Architects,    Boston,    Fel^ruary   :.'4.    1915 
by   Mr.  Flavel  Shurtleff,  Secretary  of  the  National   Conference  on   City  Planning. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


151 


he  has  led  us  out  of  the  wilderness  of 
conflicting  opinions  and  established  our 
ways. 

You  made  possible  our  first  ambitious 
effort  in  the  way  of  original  work.  In 
preparing  for  the  Chicago  Conference  a 
city  planning  study  of  a  hyi^othetical  area 
of  about  500  acres  on  the  outskirts  of  a 
city  of  about  500,000  jieople  was  an- 
nounced. It  was  a  problem  which  was  sur- 
rounded with  a  great  many  difficulties. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  the  problem  was 
too  complicated,  but  I  didn't  know  the 
landscape  architect.  There  were  twenty- 
five  entrants,  but  only  nine  submitted 
finished  studies,  eight  of  which  were  en- 
tirely by  landscape  architects,  and  the 
ninth  was  shared  in  by  two  landscape 
architects,  who,  I  suspect,  did  most  of  the 
work.  And  out  of  that  study  came  a 
splendid  result,  a  result  which  is  now  on 
exhibition  at  Cambridge,  and  at  least 
Professor  Pray  knows  all  about  it.  be- 
cause Harvard  University  is  the  guard- 
ian of  the  result  of  that  study.  Now, 
that  is  one  of  our  best  successes,  and  I 
think,  with  that  concrete  contribution  to 
the  work  of  the  conference,  you  are  en- 
titled to  share  in  whatever  of  accom- 
plishment the  Conference  may  boast. 

What  are  some  of  these  accomplish- 
ments? We  ought  not  to  claim  accom- 
plishments now,  but  I  think  that  we  may 
be  very  glad  that  the  city-planning  era 
in  the  United  States  came  into  being 
about  the  time  of  the  establishment  of 
the  City  Planning  Conference.  Let  us 
call  it  a  coincidence,  if  you  will,  but  be- 
fore 1909,  the  date  of  the  first  confer- 
ence, there  was  only  one  city-planning 
board  in  existence,  and  that  was  in  Hart- 
ford. Connecticut ;  and  I  will  challenge 
you  to  find  any  mention  of  city  planning 
in  legislation  before  that.  Since  1910, 
if  you  search  the  records,  you  will  find  in 
about  a  quarter  of  the  commonwealths  of 
the  United  States  some  reference  to  city- 
planning  legislation.     Five  of  the  states 


— New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
\\'isconsin  and  Massachusetts  —  have 
state  laws  authorizing  the  appointment 
of  local  plan  commissions,  and,  either 
by  ordinance  or  under  state  law,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  of  the  cities  of  this  coun- 
try have  active  planning  commissions. 

That  is  only  one  result.  Generally,  in 
the  train  of  planning  commissions  and 
planning  committees  have  come  inquiries 
into  the  methods  of  acquiring  land  and 
distributing  the  cost  of  the  acquisition  of 
the  land.  We  hear  more  and  more  today 
of  excess  condemnation  and  assessments 
for  betterments:  and  just  this  year,  in 
Massachusetts,  we  have  a  most  elaborate 
measure  presented  to  the  legislature  on 
the  general  subject  of  land  acquisition. 
All  these  things  are,  it  seems  to  me,  di- 
rect results  of  the  city-planning  move- 
ment. 

I  will  grant  you  that  the  World's  Fair 
and  Mr.  Burnham's  plans  for  the  White 
City  in  1893  may  have  been  the  inspira- 
tion for  city  planning ;  but.  even  allowing 
that,  I  am  going  to  claim  tonight  that 
much  of  the  result  that  we  see,  much  of 
the  activity  of  city-planning  commis- 
sions, much  of  the  city-planning  legisla- 
tion, can  be  traced  with  equal  directness 
to  the  Conference  on  City  Planning,  and 
to  the  contract  between  men  of  the  cities 
and  towns  who  come  to  these  Confer- 
ences often  with  the  vaguest  idea  of  what 
city  jjlanning  means,  and  go  away  with 
a  distinct  realization  of  the  benefits  to 
be  derived  by  an  adherance  to  planning 
principles. 

These  are  all  past  endeavors,  and.  we 
hope,  past  successes.  Beyond  are  our 
new  adventures.  This  year,  for  the  De- 
troit Conference  we  are  proposing  a  study 
of  the  best  methods  of  land  subdivision. 
I  think  it  is  hoped  that  some  kind  of 
guiding  principle  will  be  evolved,  which 
will  help  real  estate  dividers  to  get  a 
better  notion  of  what  should  be  the  size 
of  lots  and  of  blocks,  and  so  on,  a  prob- 


153 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


lem  which  it  seems  to  me,  is  very 
closely  related  to  the  general  problem 
of  congestion.  And  there,  again,  your 
associates  are  taking  the  lead.  They 
are  in  many  cases  either  chairmen  of  lo- 
cal committees  or  active  workers  on  the 
committees  which  are  working  out  this 
problem  in  about  twenty  cities. 

The  very  latest  undertaking  was  au- 
thorized only  a  few  weeks  ago  by  our 
executive  committee,  and  that  was  the 
publication  of  an  official  organ  to  be 
known  as  the  "City  Plan."  I  suspect  that 
some  of  the  members  of  our  committee 
felt  about  that  publication — although  they 
did  not  say  anything — in  much  the  same 
way  as  the  eminent  judge  of  the  King's 
Bench,  who,  after  many  years  of  service 
in  that  court  was  called  to  the  Admiralty 
Bench.  He  said,  "May  there  be  no 
moaning  of  the  Bar  when  I  set  out  to 
sea."  So  I  hope  there  will  be  no  moan- 
ing of  the  landscape  architects  when  we 
try  to  put  on  paper  what  we  think  about 
city  planning.  I  think  there  is  need  of 
such  a  bulletin.     I  think  all  the  ideas  of 


the  various  planning  committees  will 
have  more  value,  if  gathered  together 
where  all  may  read  them  and  make  com- 
parisons with  their  own  ideas.  Certain- 
ly, the  National  City  Planning  Confer- 
ence will  be  helped  by  getting  together 
in  one  place  all  the  problems  and  all  the 
solutions  that  are  suggested  by  commit- 
tees all  over  the  country.  And  I  am  go- 
ing to  offer  the  pages  of  this  Bulletin 
tonight  to  any  of  the  gentlemen  who 
have  any  ideas  that  they  would  like  to 
send  to  city-planning  boards,  to  park- 
extension  boards,  and  to  committees  who 
have  that  sort  of  thing  in  hand.  There 
will  be  5,000  copies  printed,  and  they  will 
be  given  the  largest  circulation  possible 
among  all  those  who  are  interested  in 
the  organizations  or  committees  that  I 
have  suggested.  If  you  have  a  message 
for  them  or  for  us,  please  consider  that 
the  pages  of  the  Bulletin  are  open  to  you, 
and  remember  that  we  shall  always  be 
very  glad  to  give  publicity  to  any  ideas 
that  you  think  may  advance  city  plan- 
ning in  America. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


153 


WELFARE  AND  HAPPINESS  IN  WORKS  OF 
LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE* 

Reprinted  from  "Landscape  Architecture" 


Two  subjects  very  interesting  to  us  all 
have  already  been  introduced ;  first,  the 
condition  and  prospects  of  the  profession, 
and  secondly,  the  grounds  on  which  the 
proper  works  of  landscape  architecture 
are  to  be  recommended  to  the  public  and 
to  private  owners. 

With  regard  to  the  condition  of  the 
profession,  it  is  to  be  remarked,  in  the 
first  place,  that  it  is  a  very  new  profes- 
sion. There  were,  to  be  sure,  a  few  em- 
inent practitioners  of  the  landscape  art  in 
the  eighteenth  century  and  in  the  first 
three-quarters  of  the  nineteenth,  and  a 
few  famous  writers  wrote  on  gardens  and 
gardening  in  both  the  seventeenth  and 
the  eighteenth  centuries.  Xevertheless, 
the  art  has  not  been  recognized  as  a  pro- 
fession until  recent  years,  and  it  has  as 
yet  but  few  devotees.  Secondly,  the 
progress  of  the  profession  must  depend 
on  the  increasing  knowledge  of  the  pub- 
lic concerning  what  the  profession  is 
capable  of  doing.  From  what  we  have 
already  heard  tonight,  it  seems  clear  that 
the  American  public  has  gained  within 
the  last  twenty  years  a  much  better  un- 
derstanding than  they  used  to  have  con- 
cerning what  they  may  expect  this  pro- 
fession to  do,  and  what  good  fruits  may 
come  to  the  public  from  the  work  of  this 
profession,  well  directed  and  well  sup- 
ported. This  enlightenment  of  the  pub- 
lic is,  of  course,  slow ;  but  it  goes  on 
gradually  in  several  classes.  The  pro- 
prietors of  estates  both  large  and  small, 
who  have  a  cultivated  turn  of  mind  and 


are  interested  in  landscape  or  in  gardens, 
employ  this  profession  more  and  more, 
and  with  more  and  more  intelligence  and 
better  and  better  results.  Public  officials, 
also,  are  learning  what  this  profession 
can  do  to  promote  the  public  welfare ;  and 
they,  therefore,  can  be  more  and  more 
relied  upon  to  build  up  the  profession 
through  public  employments.  This  re- 
mark applies  not  only  to  the  officials  who 
are  actually  administering  municipal  or 
state  governments,  or  the  national  gov- 
ernment, but  also  to  the  legislators ;  that 
is,  to  the  stream  of  citizens  who  are  con- 
stantly coming  into  the  legislative  bodies, 
and  not  tarrying  there  long,  but  return- 
ing to  private  life.  The  legislatures  of 
the  country  are  perceiving  more  and 
more  clearly  the  real  values  in  health  and 
public  enjoyment  which  good  work  by 
this  profession  can  provide.  I  think  these 
are  very  cheerful  signs  that  the  profes- 
sion is  making  sound  progress  in  public 
regard  and  public  serviceableness. 

The  second  topic  already  broached  is 
a  very  practical  one :  What  reasons  do 
you  give  for  urging  a  private  person  or 
a  public  body  to  employ  a  landscape 
architect?  By  what  arguments  can  the 
serviceableness  of  landscape  architecture 
be  demonstrated?  Are  they  economic, 
esthetic,  or  philanthropic  arguments? 

There  are  economic  arguments  in 
favor  of  providing  for  city  populations, 
forests,  parks,  and  other  broad,  open 
spaces,  playgrounds  for  children,  and 
some  wide,  decorated  parkways  for  pleas- 


♦Remarks  by  Charles  W.  Eliot,  President  Emeritus  of  Harvard  University,  at  the  meeting  of 
the  American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects,   Boston,  March  21,  1911. 


154 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


lire,  traffic,  and  walking.  The  economic 
argument  has  its  place ;  but  I  feel  sure 
that  the  profession  ought  to  place  its 
chief  reliance  on  other  considerations, — 
considerations  which  I  believe  determine 
much  more  human  action  than  economics 
determine.  These  considerations  relate 
to  the  promotion  of  human  welfare  and 
happiness.  The  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence declares  that  all  men  have  a 
right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  Now  it  is  the  pursuit  of  pub- 
lic happiness  which,  I  think,  should  be 
the  main  standby  of  this  profession  in 
urging  the  public  to  use  the  landscape 
art,  to  seek  its  benefits,  and  to  employ 
its  artists.  All  worthy  art  contributes  to 
the  pursuit  of  happiness,  that  is,  to  the 
pursuit  of  durable  joys  and  satisfactions ; 
and  the  profession  you  practice,  gentle- 
men, is  an  art,  and  a  fine  art.  It  will  not 
do  to  advocate  its  works  exclusively  on 
economic  grounds.  Its  advocates  should 
insist  that  it  contributes  largely  to  the 
winning  of  the  natural  and  durable  joys 
and  satisfactions  of  life. 

If  I  were  asked  to  mention  the  most 
important  public  movement  of  the  last 
twenty  years,  I  should  say  that  it  was 
the  movement  to  obtain  for  all  classes  of 
society — indeed,  for  the  entire  popula- 
tion— better  means  of  health,  rational 
enjoyment  and  real  happiness.  Much 
sympathy  has  been  expressed  in  these 
later  years  for  the  unhappy  condi- 
tion of  large  elements  of  the  popula- 
tion. Much  public  efifort  has  been  made 
to  improve  the  condition  of  the  less  for- 
tunate classes;  and  among  all  these  ef- 
forts there  is  none  more  important  than 
the  effort  to  counteract  the  evils  which 
have  arisen  from  congestion  of  popula- 
tion. This  congestion  is  a  phenomenon 
of  the  last  fifty  years  in  this  countr}^  fol- 
lowing, of  course,  the  introduction  of  the 
factory  system  on  a  large  scale.  Now  it 
is  already  demonstrated  that  economic 
considerations  alone  cannot  deal  success- 


fully with  the  actual  congestion  of  popu- 
lation, or  remedy  the  hideous  evils  which 
result  from  congestion.  The  desires  and 
beliefs  of  the  congested  population  with 
regard  to  happiness,  as  they  understand 
it,  must  be  taken  into  account.  For  in- 
stance, there  was  lately  a  public  exhibi- 
tion and  discussion  of  the  miserable  con- 
dition of  the  women  that  make  shirt- 
waists and  similar  articles  of  clothing  in 
New  York  City.  One  would  have  sup- 
posed from  the  descriptions  then  given  of 
the  mode  of  life  of  the  shirt-waist  mak- 
ers that  they  were  suffering  from  eco- 
nomic conditions,  and  that  the  remedy 
would  be  economic.  Their  wages  were 
low  in  proportion  to  their  needs ;  and 
they  suffered  in  their  crowded  lodgings 
and  narrow  streets  from  lack  of  fresh  air 
and  sunlight.  Every  one  of  these  women 
could  have  transferred  herself  within 
twenty-four  hours  to  a  wholesome  coun- 
try life,  had  she  been  willing  to  be  so 
transported.  There  were  thousands  of 
families  scattered  through  the  Middle 
West  that  were  in  great  need  of  house- 
hold servants,  and  were  ready  to  pay 
high  wages.  There  was  a  complete 
economic  remedy ;  but  the  remedy  was 
not  consistent  with  the  ideas  of  happiness 
which  the  sufferers  in  New  York  enter- 
tained, and  those  ideas  determined  their 
conduct.  Probably  not  one  of  those  dis- 
tressed shirt-waist  makers  would  have 
consented  to  transfer  herself  and  her  be- 
longings to  a  country  or  small-town  life, 
although  she  knew  that  all  her  economic 
straits  would  have  been  immediately  re- 
lieved. Something  more  than  economic 
remedies  must  be  found  for  the  great 
evils  which  beset  modern  society,  and 
particularly  for  the  diseases,  physical  and 
moral,  which  are  caused  by  congestion 
of  population.  This  profession  is  called 
upon  to  deal  with  all  these  problems  of 
congestion.  You  must  take  account  of 
the  desires  and  hopes,  tastes  and  pur- 
poses of  the  population  to  be  relieved; 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


155 


and  these  sentiments  and  emotions  will  all 
be  found  to  be  closely  related  to  that  pur- 
suit of  happiness  in  which  a  free  people 
is  always  engaged  in  accordance  with 
their  tastes  and  inclinations. 
S  The  city  plannings  of  which  Mr.  Park- 
er spoke  with  so  much  discrimination 
are,  I  suppose,  among  the  most  import- 
ant of  the  problems  presented  to  your 
profession  ;  but  they  are  full  of  great  diffi- 
culties in  the  face  of  the  layouts  which 
most  American  cities  have  adopted.  I 
suppose  that  the  uniform  rectangular 
layout  of  a  city,  without  diagonal  or  radi- 
al avenues,  is  the  stupidest  thing  the 
American  people  has  done  on  a  large 
scale,  and  under  different  natural  con- 
ditions. That  layout  is  extremely  un- 
economical, causing  an  enormous  daily 
waste  of  muscular  and  mechanical  power, 
and  in  many  places  it  has  destroyed 
natural  features  of  remarkable  beauty. 
Yet  today  our  city  planning  must  take 
account  of  all  these  adverse  conditions, 
predetermined,   and   often   irremediable. 

I  dare  say  that  some  of  you  have  felt, 
from  time  to  time,  some  discouragement 
at  the  multitude  and  difficulty  of  the 
problems  in  landscape  architecture  which 
lie  before  the  American  people;  but,  as 
1  look  back  on  the  changes  wrought  in 
.\merican  cities  and  their  vicinities  dur- 
ing the  last  twenty  years,  it  seems  to  me 
that  there  is  good  ground  for  hope  of  , 
large  progress  and  ample  improvements 
in  the  years  which  lie  immediately  be- 
fore the  young  men  here  present.  I  no- 
tice that  the  strictly  economic  considera- 
tions in  favor  of  small  breathing-spaces 
and  large  landscape  parks  are  less  insist- 
ed on  and  that  many  minds  are  accessible 
to  the  considerations  which  relate  to  pub- 
lic enjoyment.  Thus  I  have  seen  real 
progress  made  in  this  respect  on  the  Is- 
land of  Mt.  Desert,  where  I  live  in  sum- 
mer. That  island,  as  an  economic  value, 
is  whollj'  dependent  on  the  preservation 
of  its  rough  natural  scenery  and  the  safe 


development  of  its  various  beauties. 
When  I  first  went  there  to  live,  in  1881, 
the  natives  of  the  island  hardly  appre- 
ciated the  fact  that  the  chief  asset  of  the 
place  was  its  natural  beauties.  Their  no- 
tion of  the  value  of  the  island  was  al- 
most exclusively  an  economic  one.  It 
was  a  good  place  from  which  to  fish.  It 
had  been  a  very  good  place  in  which  to 
build  small  vessels.  It  attracted,  or  had 
begun  to  attract,  a  considerable  number 
of  summer  boarders.  They  now  see  clear- 
ly the  importance  of  protecting  and  con- 
serving in  every  way  the  natural  beau- 
ties of  the  island ;  and  they  are  prepared 
to  assent  to  having  several  thousands  of 
acres  of  hilltops  and  partially  wooded, 
steep,  rough  slopes  held  by  the  Hancock 
County  Trustees  of  Public  Reservations 
in  perpetuity  for  public  uses,  and  to  hav- 
ing these  thousands  of  acres  perpetually 
exempt  from  taxation.  It  is  not  only  the 
people  born  on  or  near  the  island  that 
have  come  to  be  influenced  by  this  mixed 
regard  for  economic  considerations,  on 
the  one  hand,  and  considerations  affect- 
ing public  enjoyment,  on  the  other.  The 
summer  people  have,  within  the  last  few 
years,  arrived  at  a  new  comprehension  of 
the  fact  that  the  only  way  to  preserve 
the  island  as  a  happy  and  fortunate  sum- 
mer resort  is  to  secure,  first  the  preser- 
vation of  its  scenery,  and  secondly,  the 
purity  of  its  water-supplies.  The  action 
of  the  givers  of  the  money  which  put  in- 
to the  hands  of  the  Hancock  County 
Trustees  of  Public  Reservations  many 
thousands  of  acres  of  these  hillsides 
shows  that  they  appreciate  the  necessity 
of  preserving  natural  beauties  as  means 
of  open-air  enjoyment  for  a  population 
which  tends  to  become  dense. 

This  suggestion  may  be  available  for 
you  when  you  have  to  enter  into  discus- 
sion with  municipal  authorities  or  state 
authorities,  concerning  the  expediency  of 
executing  public  works  which  you  have 
designed.     Ever  since  187  1,  I  have  main- 


156 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


tained  a  steady  interest  in  the  discussion 
of  the  existing  exemption  of  college  prop- 
erty from  taxation  in  the  various  cities 
and  towns  in  which  colleges  or  other 
educational  institutions  have  been  es- 
tablished in  Massachusetts.  The  doc- 
trine of  exemption  for  educational  insti- 
tutions has  been  more  and  more  attacked 
in  almost  every  New  England  legisla- 
ture since  1874.  About  four  years  ago, 
there  was  an  unusually  vigorous  cam- 
paign on  that  subject  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts legislature ;  and  a  careful  argu- 
ment was  prepared  by  the  opponents  of 
the  taxation  proposed,  for  presentation 
to  a  committee  to  which  a  bill  to  tax  col- 
lege property  had  been  referred.  That 
argument  demonstrated  that  the  presence 
of  a  college  or  other  institution  of  edu- 
cation in  a  city  or  town  was  never  in  any 
possible  sense  a  burden  on  that  town  or 
city.  On  the  contrary,  a  table  prepared 
by  counsel  for  Harvard  College  from  the 
Tax  Commissioner's  reports  at  the  State 
House,  demonstrated  that  those  towns 
and  cities  in  Massachusetts  which  con- 
tained college  properties  exempt  from  tax- 
ation, when  compared  with  other  towns 
and  cities  of  about  the  same  size  and  situ- 
ation but  having  no  lands  exempt  from 
taxation  because  occupied  by  a  college  or 
other  institution  of  learning,  were  in  bet- 
ter pecuniary  position  as  regards  taxes 
and  public  expenditures  than  the  towns 
which  had  no  colleges  within  their  limits. 
That  proved  a  very  convincing  table.  It 
was  the  principal  reason  for  the  over- 
whelming vote  by  which  the  House  ad- 
hered to  the  ancient  policy  of  Massa- 
chusetts on  this  subject. 

In  the  course  of  that  discussion,  I  came 
to  the  following  conclusion  with  regard 
to  the  amount  of  exempted  properties 
in  a  city  or  town,  namely,  that  the  best 
existing  test  of  the  quality  of  a  city  or 
town  as  a  place  to  live  in  wholesomely, 
and  with  access  to  rational  pleasures,  is 
the  proportion  of  the  exempted  territory 


in  the  town  to  the  unexempted.  The 
higher  the  proportion  of  exempted  terri- 
tory, the  surer  is  that  town  or  city  to  be 
a  desirable  place  to  live  in,  and,  there- 
fore, to  be  a  prosperous  place.  With  the 
exception  of  cemeteries,  all  institutions 
which  occupy  exempted  territory,  such 
as  churches,  colleges,  hospitals,  school- 
houses,  museums,  and  libraries,  promote 
directly  the  well-being  of  the  citizens.  All 
open  spaces,  like  parks,  public  gardens, 
playgrounds,  or  water  areas,  promote  the 
health  of  the  citizens,  and  give  them 
pleasure.  The  wider  the  streets  and 
avenueS' — which  are  exempted  areas — the 
better  the  health  and  vigor  of  the  popu- 
lation. It  is  a  safe  inference  that  the 
larger  the  proportion  of  the  exempted 
areas  to  the  non-exempt  in  any  town  or 
city,  the  more  chance  is  there  that  the 
town  or  city  is.  or  will  be,  a  good  place 
to  live  in, — or,  in  other  words,  a  place  to 
attract  intelligent  people  and  well-con- 
ducted businesses. 

Through  my  acquaintance  with  the 
Olmsteds  in  two  generations  and  my 
natural  interest  in  the  work  of  my  son 
Charles,  who  practiced  his  profession 
successfully  for  ten  years  before  his  early 
death,  I  am  competent  to  testify  that 
among  all  the  professions  I  have  had  oc- 
casion to  observe  there  is  none  capable 
of  yielding  to  its  members  more  exquisite 
satisfactions.  There  is  none  which  can 
give  the  practitioner  better  reason  for  be- 
ing content  with  his  own  serviceableness 
to  mankind,  because  successful  results  in 
your  profession  bring  health,  general 
well-being,  and  sweet  and  wholesome 
pleasures  to  mankind.  The  physician 
must  see  a  great  deal  of  human  suffering. 
He  often  relieves  it ;  but  he  must  endure 
the  spectacle  of  suft'ering.  The  lawyer 
must  at  times  make  himself  familiar  with 
wrong-doing  and  crime ;  and,  while  he 
seeks  to  promote  justice,  he  must  often 
contend  against  injustice.  Your  profes- 
sion, on  the  other  hand,  has  to  do  all  the 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


157 


time  with  the  elements  of  beauty  in  the 
natural  world,  with  the  beauty  of  trees, 
shrubs,  plants,  flowers,  lakes,  streams, 
ponds,  and  forests :  and.  in  developing; 
open  landscape,  you  take  account  of  all 
the  beauties  of  the  sky.  The  elements 
with  which  you  work  are  beautiful, 
wholesome,  and  winning.  One  cannot 
say  that  of  the  elements  in  which  the 
physician,  or  the  lawyer,  or  the  lousiness 
man  works,  particularly  if  the  business 
is  one  involving  the  factory  sj^stem,  for 
the  factorj-  hand  is  apt  to  suffer  from  mo- 
notony, too  great  division  of  labor,  and 
an  e'blusion  from  natural  ]c>ys.  You 
have  the  satisfaction  of  always  working 
towards  good,  towards  enjoyments,  to- 
wards enlargements  of  view,  which  bet- 
ter human  nature  and  better  the  world. 

You  can  win  a  further  satisfaction, 
namely, that  your  product  or  result, if  well 
contrived,  is  a  durable  thing.  Earth 
work  is  more  durable  than  any  other  hu- 
man work.  Roads  are  very  durable,  as 
the  Roman  roads  testify.  So  are  bridges, 
unless  they  are  made  of  wood ;  and  so  is 
all  park  work,  particularly  public  i)ark 
work.  Your  work  is  much  more  durable 
than  that  of  the  architect.  I  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  which,  with  great 
pains  and  trouble,  got  built  on  Copley 
Square  the  Boston  Museum  of  Fine  Arts ; 
and  already,  within  a  little  more  than 
thirty  years,  the  building  has  disap- 
peared. Even  the  churches  the  architects 
build  disappear,  or  are  moved  to  another 
site,  like  the  Second  Church  in  Copley 
Scjuare;  or  are  dwarfed  by  huge  commer- 
cial structures,  as  in  New  York ;  or  are 
left  to  go  to  decay,  abandoned  by  the 
population,  as  on  many  of  the  hilltops  of 


the  higher  parts  of  Connecticut  and 
Massachusetts.  If  I  were  of  your  pro- 
fession, that  durability  of  my  work  would 
be  a  cheerful  thought.  It  has  been  a 
satisfaction  to  me  during  all  my  working 
life  that,  although  my  own  daily  work 
was  generally  exanescent,  just  a  little 
step  forward  in  the  march  of  education, 
yet  I  had  put  some  hard-burnt  bricks  in- 
to the  walls  of  an  enduring  institution. 
You  can  have  analogous  satisfaction  in 
the  durability  of  many  of  the  works  that 
you  plan  and  construct.  The  public  parks 
around  Boston,  the  Central  Park  of  New 
York,  and  the  great  Chicago  parks,  are 
going  to  be  extraordinarily  permanent. 
Their  superficies  may  be  altered;  but  the 
parks  themselves  will  endure  so  long  as 
this  nation  endures.  The  artist  may  be 
forgotten,  or  may  be  recalled  only  by  the 
writers  and  readers  of  history  ;  but  the 
landscape  artist's  work  will  live.  To  be 
sure,  we  have  to  anticipate  changes 
throughout  the  United  States  in  regard 
to  the  holding  of  large  landed  estates, 
changes  which  may  affect  the  durability 
of  private  country  places.  You  cannot 
be  sure  that  the  country  places  now  con- 
structed by  you  will  be  passed  down  in 
the  same  family,  or  carried  on  hereafter 
in  the  same  style  and  spirit;  but  public 
works  are  going  to  be  of  great  duration. 
So  in  spite  of  the  difficulties  which  at- 
tend the  development  of  a  young  profes- 
sion whose  capacities  are  not  yet  fully 
appreciated,  I  congratulate  you  most 
heartily  on  the  nature  of  the  work  to 
which  you  have  devoted  your  lives ;  and 
1  fully  believe  that  your  professional 
lives  will  be  unusually  happy,  and  will 
bring  you  durable  satisfactions. 


158 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  SELECTED  ARTICLES  BY 
MEMBERS  OF  THE  SOCIETY 

(Note-  "See  also  L.  A."  means  that  additional  articles  will  be  found  in  the  List  of  Selected 
Articles  in  Landscape  Architecture  Quarterly,  page  162.  Space  has  not  permitted  the  inclusion  of 
newspaper  articles.) 


Brinckerhoff,  A.  F. 

Four  articles  on  parks  and  landscape  de- 
sign in  Real  Estate  Record,  Westchester  Co., 
N.  Y.,  1910-11;  article  on  London  Town 
Planning  Conference  in  L.  A.,  1910. 

Caparn,  H.  A.  (See  also  L.  A.) 

State  Parks.  Supplement  to  National  Muni- 
cipal Review,  Nov.,  1921.  Numerous  articles 
on  gardens  and  garden  details,  in  House 
and   Garden,  Architecture,   etc. 

Child,  Stephen 

.■\rticlcs  on  European  conditions,  esp.  Bel- 
gian reconstruction,  in  L.  A.,  National  Muni- 
cipal Review,  Survey,  American  City,  etc. 
Article  on  English  landscape  architecture, 
L.  A.,  July,   1913. 

Comey,  A.  C. 

Town  planning  and  zoning  reports,  especial- 
ly for  Houston,  Detroit,  Brockton,  Milwau- 
kee, and  Cambridge,  1913-21;  article  on  Co- 
partnership for  Housing  in  America,  in 
Annals  of  American  Academy  of  Political 
and  Social  Science,  and  other  articles  on 
housing  finance;  article  on  State  Plan  for 
Mass.,  in  City  Plan;  Chapter  in  National 
Municipal  League  series  volume  on  City 
Planning;  and  articles  on  city  planning 
topics  in  L.  A.,  American  City,  etc.,  1910-21. 

Cook,  W.  D. 

Article   "Problems  of   the    Landscape   Archi- 
tect in  California"  in  Garden  Magazine,  Dec. 
1920;    two    articles    in    California   Southland, 
etc. 
Cox,  L.  D. 

Report  on  Street  Tree  System  for  New 
York  City.  Bulletin  of  N.  Y.  State  College 
of  Forestry,  1910;  article  on  Los  Angeles 
parks  in  California  Outlook,  1911;  and  land- 
scape forestry  in  New  York  Forestry,   1919. 

Dean,  Ruth 

The  Livable  House:  Its  Garden,  published 
by  Moffat  Yard  &  Co.,  1917.  Ten  articles 
in  Country  Life,  eight  articles  in  Garden 
Magazine,  and  one  in  House  and  Garden,  on 
home  grounds  and  garden   topics,   1915-1921. 


De  Boer,  S.  R. 

Articles  on  Denver  parks  in  American  City 
1913  and  Parks  and  Recreation  1918-19,  ar- 
ticles on  Colorado  planting  and  western 
landscape  work  in  Gardener's  Chronicle, 
Denver  Municipal  Facts,  Parks  and  Recrea- 
tion, etc.,  1918-21. 

Draper,  E.  S. 

Articles  on  Southern  mill  village,  park  and 
real  estate  development,  in  Textile  World, 
Manufacturers'  Record,  Realty  Magazine; 
articles  on  parks  and  playgrounds  in  In- 
dustrial and  Engineering  News,  Rotarian, 
and  Cotton;  article  on  tree  moving  in  Gar- 
den Magazine,  and  on  professional  practice 
in  Southern  Architect,  etc.,   1919-22. 

Elwood,  P.  H.,  Jr. 

Articles  on  landscape  extension  work  in  M. 
A.  C.  Extension  Service  and  American  City, 
1914-15,  articles  on  Soldier  Cemeteries  in 
France  in  Architectural  Record  and  L.  A., 
and  on  State  Parks  for  Ohio  in  Arbor  Day 
Annual,   1920-21.   . 

Evans,  F.  N.   (See  also  L.  A.) 

Town  Improvement,  published  by  D.  Apple- 
ton  &  Co.,  1919.  Articles  on  home  grounds, 
planting,  and  parks  in  House  &  Garden, 
American  Real  Estate  Journal,  Proceedings 
of  Illinois  Municipal  League  and  Illinois 
Horticultural  Society,  1915-18;  article  The 
Florist  and  the  Landscape  Architect  in 
American  Florist,  1916. 

Gibbs,  George,  Jr. 

City  planning  reports  for  Boston  Planning 
Board  on  East  Boston  and  North  End,  1915- 
17.  Report  of  Camp  Planning  Engineer  in 
documents  of  Construction  Division  of  War 
Department,    1918-19. 

Gregg,  J.  W. 

Lawn  making  in  California,  Berkeley  Agr. 
Expt.  Station  circular;  bulletin  of  Calif. 
State  Board  of  Education  on  rural  School 
grounds;  articles  on  landscape  subjects  in 
American  City,  The  Architect,  Architect  and 
Engineer,  Pacific  Rural  Press,  Building  Re- 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


159 


view,  Home  and  Grounds,  1915-19:  articles  on 
California  shrubs  and  herbs  in  Bailey's 
Cyclopedia  of  Horticulture;  article  on  auto- 
mobile camping  grounds  in  Calif.  State 
Foresters'  Report,  1910-18. 
Hall,  G.  D. 

Article  on  the  future  Prince  Rupert  (Brett 
&  Hall),  in  Architectural  Record,  1909.  Two 
articles  on  a  California  estate  and  on  Los 
Angeles  in  Architect  and  Engineer,  1920, 
and  article  on  Metropolitan  District  for  Los 
Angeles. 

Hare,  S.  H.  (With  S.  J.  Hare) 

Organizing  and  Developing  a  Modern 
Cemetery,  in  Park  and  Cemetery,  1915,  and 
same  in  Cemetery  Handbook.  Three  articles 
on  parks  and  cemeteries  in  American  City, 
Pacific  Coast  Architect,  and  Parks  and  Rec- 
reation, 1914-21. 

Hubbard,  H.  V.  (See  also  L.  A.) 
Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Landscape  De- 
sign (with  T.  Kimball),  published  by  Mac- 
millan  Co.,  1917.  Landscape  Architecture 
Classification  (with  T.  Kimball),  published 
by  Harvard  University  Press,  Cambridge, 
1920.  Editorials,  articles,  and  book  reviews 
as  editor  of  L.  A.  1910-date.  Paper  on  Size 
and  Distribution  of  Playgrounds  and  similar 
Recreation  Facilities,  in  Proceedings  of 
National  Conference  on  City  Planning,  1914. 
also  printed  in  Playground,  American  City, 
etc.  Article  on  Landscape  Architecture  in 
latest  edition  of  Encyclopedia  Americana. 
Editor  of  technical  report  (Volume  II)  of 
United  States  Housing  Corporation,  1919, 
etc. 

Kellaway,  H.  J.  (See  also  L.  A.) 

How  to  Lay  Out  Suburban  Home  Grounds, 

published  by  John  Wiley  &  Sons.  2d  en- 
larged edition,  1915.  Articles  on  recreation 
areas  in  Puritan  Magazine,  1899  and  En- 
gineering Record,  190.3;  on  w-alks  and  drive- 
ways in  Suburban  Life,  1900;  article  on  city 
planning  in  Woman's  Journal,  1917;  articles 
in  L.  A.  on  parks  and  housing,  1918  and 
1920,  etc.  Reports  in  connection  with  pro- 
fessional  advice   to   Winchester,    Mass.,   etc. 

Kessler,  G.  E. 
City  Plan  for  Dallas,  Tex.,  1911.     Paper  on 
Kansas  City  Park  System  for  National  Con- 
ference on  City  Planning,  1917,  etc. 

Kimball,  Theodora  (See  also  L.  A.) 

fc       City    Planning,    a    Comprehensive  Analysis 

(with    J.    S.     Pray),    publislicd    by  Harvard 

University    Press,    1913;    Classified  Selected 


List  of  References  on  City  Planning,  pub- 
lished by  National  Conference  on  City 
Planning,  1915;  An  Introduction  to  the  Study 
of  Landscape  Design  (with  H.  V.  Hubbard, 
see  above),  1917;  Landscape  Architecture 
Classification  (with  H.  V.  Hubbard  see 
above),  1920.  Edited  Municipal  Accomplish- 
ment in  City  Planning  for  National 
Conference  on  City  Planning,  1920. 
Numerous  bibliographies  on  subjects  of 
landscape  architecture,  city  planning,  recon- 
struction, and  industrial  housing.  Edi- 
torials, articles,  and  reviews  in  L.  A.,  1912- 
date.  Annual  surveys  of  city  planning  re- 
ports in  L.  A.,  1912-date,  and  annual  reviews 
of  city  planning  progress  in  National  Muni- 
cipal Review,  1918-date.  Articles  on  City 
|)lanning  and  landscape  subjects  in  Ameri- 
can City.  Garden  Magazine,  Journal  of  The 
American  Institute  of  Architects,  Garden 
Cities  and  Town  Planning,  Journal  of  Town 
Planning  Institute  of  Canada,  etc. 

Kruse,  A.  M. 
Three  articles  and  editorial  on  landscape 
architecture  subjects  in  Construction  (Can- 
ada), July  and  August  1921.  Report  on 
Town  of  Kapuskasing.  Ontario,  as  associate 
town  planner,  1921,  published  by  Ontario 
Bureau  of  Municipal  Affairs. 

Lay,  C.  D.  (See  also  L.  A.) 

Articles,  editorials,  and  book  reviews  as 
editor  of  L.  A.,  1910-1921,  including  Space 
Composition,  Highways  and  County  Plan- 
ning, Notes  on  the  Influence  of  Automobiles 
on  Town,  Country,  and  Estate  Planning, 
Park  Design  and  the  Preservation  of  the 
Park  Idea,  etc.  Also  articles  in  garden  mag- 
azines on  garden  subjects. 
McCrary,  I.  J. 

Pueblo  (Colo.)  Improvement  Plan  report, 
1910. 

Manning,  W.   H.   (See  also  L.  A.) 

City  plan  reports  for  Bangor,  Me.  and  Bil- 
lerica,  Mass.  Regional  plan  report  for 
Birmingham,  Ala.  Article:  The  .Art  of  De- 
signing Landscapes,  in  Bailey's  Cyclopedia 
of  Horticulture,  1910.  Articles  on  state  and 
regional  planning,  cantonment  planning,  etc.. 
in  various  periodicals.  Papers  before  Na- 
tional  Conference  on  City  Planning,  etc. 

Mische,  E.  T. 

Portland  (Ore.)  park  reports,  1902-12;  park 
system  of  Pasadena,  Calif.,  1917;  articles  on 
city  planning  in  Portland  City  Club  Bulle- 
tin,   etc.,    and    on    landscape    and    park    sub- 


160 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


jects  in  Parks  and  Recreation,  1921,  as  editor 
of  its  Dept.  of   Landscape  and  Art. 
MoreU,  A.  U.,  and  A.  B.  Nichols 

City  plan  report  for  Stillwater,  Minn.  Re- 
port for  Morgan  Park,  Duluth;  articles  in 
various  periodicals. 

Nicolet,  T.  W. 

Landscape  Gardening  as  applied  to  Rural 
School   Grounds,   pamphlet,    1915. 

Nolen,  John  (See  also  L.  A.) 
Replanning  Small  Cities,  published  by  B.  W. 
Huebsch,  N.  Y.,  1912;  New  Ideals  in  the 
Planning  of  Cities,  Towns  and  Villages,  pub- 
lished by  American  City  Bureau,  N.  Y., 
1919.  Edited  City  Planning,  a  series  of  17 
papers,  published  by  D.  Appleton  &  Co., 
1916.  Author  of  nine  pamphlets  on  city 
planning  and  industrial  housing  subjects  and 
21  printed  city  planning  and  park  system 
reports,  including  Roanoke,  San  Diego, 
Montclair,  Madison,  Chattanooga,  La  Crosse, 
New  London,  Erie,  Bridgeport,  Akron, 
Flint,  Bristol,  etc.,  1907-21.  Papers  in  Pro- 
ceedings of  National  Conference  on  City 
Planning,   magazine  articles,   etc. 

Olmsted,  F.  L.  (see  also  L.  A.) 
Carrying  Out  The  City  Plan  (with  F.  Shurt- 
leff),  published  by  Sage  Foundation,  1914. 
Published  city  plan  reports  for  Boulder, 
New  Haven  (with  Cass  Gilbert),  Pittsburgh, 
Rochester  (with  Brunner  and  Arnold),  New- 
port, and  Detroit,  1910-15.  Papers  on  city 
planning  in  Proceedings  of  National  Con- 
ference on  City  Planning,  National  Housing 
Association,  First  Canadian  Housing  and 
Town  Planning  Congress.  American  Aca- 
demy of  Political  and  Social  Science,  etc., 
1909-21.  Paper  on  Playgrounds  in  Parks, 
in  Proceedings  of  American  Association  of 
Park  Superintendents,  1916.  Article  on 
Parks  and  Park  Systems  in  Appleton's 
American  Cyclopedia,  1912.  Article,  Parks 
as  Memorials,  and  the  Art  of  the  Landscape 
Architect,  American  Magazine  of  Art,  Sep- 
tember, 1919;  and  articles  on  land  sub- 
division and  war  housing,  on  professional 
practice   and   technical    details,   etc. 

Pearse,  R.  J. 

Home,  Yard  and  Garden  Contests,  Bulletin 
of  Iowa  State  College,  1916.  Articles  in 
various  farm  journals  about  farmstead  plan- 
ning, county   fair  grounds,   etc. 

Phillips,  T.  Glenn 

City  plan  reports  for  Detroit,  Mich.  Paper, 
Cemeteries  in  connection  with  city  planning, 


in  Proceedings  of  American  Cemetery  Su- 
perintendents,  1921. 

PUat,  C.  F. 
Three  articles  in  Architectural  Record,  1915- 
18,  including  Popular  Education  in  Archi- 
tecture and  Landscape  Gardening,  and 
Camp  Lewis,  Wash.  Garden  article  in 
Architectural  Review,  August,  1919.  Article 
on  Herbaceous  Perennials  in  Landscape  De- 
sign, in  revised  edition  of  Bailey's  Cyclo- 
pedia of  Horticulture.  Several  book  re- 
views. 

Pitkin,  William,  Jr. 

Article,  The  Relation  between  the  Architect 
and  the  Landscape  Architect,  in  American 
Architect,  March  1920;  two  articles  on  land 
subdivision  in  National  Real  Estate  Journal, 
1920;  articles  on  estates  and  gardens  in 
Architecture,  Garden  Magazine,  House  Beau- 
tiful, Architectural  Forum,  Architectural 
Review,   1915   and   1920,   etc. 

Pray,  J.  S.   (See  also  L.  A.) 

City  Planning,  a  Comprehensive  Analysis 
^  (with  T.  Kimball,  see  above),  1913.  Ar- 
ticles on  Landscape  Architecture  in  Ameri- 
can Year  Book,  1911-12.  The  Survey  for  a 
City  Plan,  in  Proceedings  of  Fifth  Annual 
Conference  of  Mayors  of  State  of  New  York. 
1914.  Series  of  articles  on  Railroad  Grounds 
in  Parks  and  Recreation,  1921.  Articles  in 
L.  A.  on  Harvard  School  of  Landscape 
Architecture,  National  Parks,  Prize  of 
Rome,  etc.  Biographical  articles  on  H.  L. 
Warren,  B.  M.  Watson,  C.  M.  Robinson, 
and  C.  P.  Punchard,  Jr.,  1917-21,  etc. 

Ramsdell,  C.  H.  (See  also  L.  A.) 

Two  articles  on  parks  and  planting  in  Min- 
nesota Horticulturist,  1910  and  1913;  article 
on  school  grounds  in  American  School 
Board  Journal,  1931. 

Schermerhorn,  Richard,  Jr.  (See  also  L.  A.) 
Article  on  Andrew  Jackson  Downing  in 
House  &  Garden,  August,  1909,  and  on 
Early  American  Landscape  Architecture,  in 
Architectural  Review,  April,  1921.  Paper 
on  City  Planning  in  Proceedings  of  Brook- 
lyn Engineers  Club,  1912.  Biographical  ar- 
ticle on  N.   F.   Barrett  in  L.  A.,  1920,  etc. 

Shurtleff,  A.  A.  (See  also  L.  A.) 

City  plan  report  for  Newton,  Mass.;  articles 
in  various  magazines. 

Steele,  Fletcher  (See  also  L.  A.) 

Sixteen  articles,  1911-21,  in  L.  A.,  Garden 
Magazine,  House  Beautiful,  Vogue,  Country 
Life    (American),    Popular    Mechanics,    and 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 


161 


Architecture,  on  landscape  subjects  and 
garden  details,  including  color  charts,  sculp- 
ture, use  of  trees,  etc.;  two  articles  on  city 
planning  subjects  in  L.  A,,  1911  and   1915. 

Strang,  Elizabeth  L. 

Thirty  articles  on  landscape  and  garden  sub- 
jects, 1915-1921,  in  Garden  Magazine,  House 
Beautiful,  and  House  &  Garden,  especially 
on  color  schemes  in  flower  gardens  and 
planting  of  small  home  grounds.  Articles 
also  in  House  &  Garden's  Book  of  Gardens. 
Correspondence  Course  for  Mass.  State  De- 
partment of  University  Extension,  in  Ex- 
terior   Home   Decoration,    1918. 

Taylor,  A.  D.  (See  also  L.  A.) 

The  Complete  Garden,  published  by  Double- 
day,  Page  &  Co.,  1921.  Numerous  articles 
in  garden  and  architectural  magazines. 


Underwood,  Loring 
The   Garden   and   its   Accessories,   published 
by    Little   &   Brown,    1907,   and   The   Garden 
Diary  and  Country   Home  Guide,   published 
by   F.   A.   Stokes   Co.,   1910. 

Wheelwright,  Robert  (See  also  L.  A.) 

.Articles,  reviews,  and  editorials  in  L.  A.,  in- 
cluding The  Attacks  on  Central  Park,  and 
two  articles  in  Garden  Magazine,  1921,  on 
naturalesque   pools  and   planting. 

WUcox,  R.  H.  (See  also  L.  A.) 

Villa  Corsini  Cascade,  article  in  Archi- 
tectural Record,   1921. 

Wyman,  A.  P. 

The  Small  Home  Yard,  Bulletin  of  Univ.  of 
Illinois,  1910.  Articles  in  various  maga- 
zines. 


162 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


SELECTED  ARTICLES  IN 
LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTURE  QUARTERLY 

Official  Organ  of  the  American  Society  of  Landscape  Architects 

Grouped  for  Convenience  in  Office  Reference 

1910—1921 


Subject                          Brief  Title                          Author  Reference 

Date 

(A)  BIBLIOGRAPHY  Month  Year  Vol.  Page 

Articles  on  estates  and   gardens R.    Schermerhorn,   Jr.         Jan.  1912  3  89-93 

Apr.  1912  2  141-142 

Books  on  landscape  architecture T.   Kimball  Jan.  1916  6  87-94 

Gardening  books  for  the  client S.   F.  Hamblin  Apr.  1920  10  121-127 

References  on  playground  design M.  R.  Bradbury  Apr.  1921  11  147-150 

(B)  BOTANIC  GARDENS 

Data  upon  botanic  gardens W.  H.  Manning  Jan.  1913  3  73-76 

Planting  a  botanic  garden* H.  A.   Caparn  and 

N.   Taylor  July  191.5  5  157-162 

(C)  CITY  AND   REGIONAL  PLANNING.  See  also  sections  J,  M,  and  T 

City  planning  study* National  Conference 

on  City  Planning  Jan.  1913  3  90 

Principles  of  city  planning F.  L.  Olmsted  July  1920  10  173-174 

The  regional   survey  and  the   regional 

plan   - T.  Adams  July  1919  9  173-179 

The  survey  for  a  city  plan J.  S.  Pray  Oct.  1914  5  5-14 

The  Billerica  town  plan* W.   H.  Manning  Apr.  1913  3  108-118 

(Local  surveys) 

Street-traffic  studies F.  L.  Olmsted  Oct.  1910  1  1-8 

(D)  CEMETERIES.     See  also  section  T 

Modern  meditations  among  the  tombs-H.  A.  Caparn  July  1911  1  172-180 

(E)  CONSTRUCTION  DETAILS.    See  also  section  I 

Sizes  of  steps* F.  L.  Olmsted  Jan.  1911  1  84-90 

Colonial  garden  details* R.  Wheelwright  Oct.  1913  4  13-20 

Stepped  ramps* R.  Wheelwright  Apr.  1915  5  134-135 

The  prodigal  sun* A.  A.  ShurtlefJ  July  1916  6  173-175 

A   garden   theatre*    Starrett  &  Van  VIeck        July  1918  8  178-179 

Garden   pools*   C.  D.  Lay  Apr.  1919  9  113-124 

Outdoor   fireplaces*   R.  Wheelwright  July  1919  9  194-195 

Arbor  and  treillage  details* July  1919  9  208-213 

Pool-control*    R.  Wheelwright  July  1920  10  181-183 

Garden  ramps*    C.  D.  Lay  Apr.  1931  11  124-125 

(F)  FAIR  GROUNDS 

The  county  and  district  fair* L.  W.  Ramsey  July  1930  10  201-205 

(G)  FARM  BUILDINGS 

A  New  Hampshire  farm  group* A.  A.  Shurtlefl  Oct.  1917  8  19-22 

An  English  farm  group* A.  A.  Shurtleflf  Apr.  1915  5  120-123 

*For  illustrated  articles. 


Jan. 

1914 

4 

53-65 

July 

1914 

4 

167-170 

Oct. 

1914 

5 

1-4 

Jan. 

1915 

5 

57-66 

Apr. 

1915 

5 

115-119 

Jan. 

1918 

8 

76 

Apr. 

1921 

11 

119-123 

July 

1921 

11 

186-188 

Oct. 

1921 

12 

29-40 

Oct. 

1917 

8 

23-43 

July 

1918 

8 

190-19; 

Apr. 

1919 

9 

125-12! 

OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITFXTS  163 

Subject  Brief  Title  Author  Reference 

Date 
(H)   INSECT  PESTS  Month  Year  Vol.    Page 

Table  of  insect  pests  of  trees,  shrubs 

and  vines F.  M.  Edwards  July       191.''.       r.     168-169 

(I)   ITALIAN  VILLAS 

Italian  garden  theatres* H.  V.  Hubbard 

Isola    Bella*    E.  I.  Williams 

Villa  Cicogna* R.  Wheelwright 

Note-taking  in   Italian  gardens,   Villa 

Gamberaia*   H.  V.  Hubbard 

Palazzo   Giovio,   Como*  H.  V.  Hubbard 

Villa   Gamberaia*  American  Academy  in 

Rome  (Lawson) 

VillS^orsini-Rome.     Cascade*   R.  H.  Wilcox 

Cascade   in  Villa  Torlonia,   Frascati*--E.  G.  Lawson 
Seeing  the  Italian  Villas  L.  H.  Zach 

(J)   LAND  SUBDIVISION.     See  also  section  T 

Land  subdivision  for  residential  pur- 
poses   H.  V.  Hubbard  and 

T.   Kimball 

Competition  in  street-naming* E.  H.   Bouton 

"     [Results]    E.  H.  Bouton 

Steep  slopes  in  low  cost  housing  de- 
velopments*     T.  B.  Augur  Oct.       1920     11       25-38 

(K)   MODELS  OF  LANDSCAPE 

Landscape   in   relief*    G.  C.  Curtis  Jan.       1913       3       49-58 

(L)  OFFICE  METHODS 

Specification  for  topographical  map  — F.  L.  Olmsted  Jan.       1912       2       76-81 
Arrangement    of    a    landscape    archi- 
tect's  professional   collections* H.  V.  Hubbard  and 

T.   Kimball  Jan.        1913        2       76-89 

Standardizing  scientific  and  common 

plant  name  abbreviations W.  H.  Manning 

A    scheme   of   account    forms*    R.  W.  Beal 

Estimates A.  D.  Taylor 

A  landscape  architect's  kit* F.  Steele 

(M)   PARKS   AND   PLAYGROUNDS.    See   also  section  R 

A  system  of  cost  keeping C.  N.  Lowrie 

Playground  design* C.  D.  Lay 

Examples  of  influence  of  public  parks 
in  increasing  city  land  values J.  Nolen 

The  size  and  distribution  of  play- 
grounds     H.  V.   Hubbard 

Park  department  organization F.  L.  Olmsted 

Graphic  presentation  of  park  service*--A.  C.   Comey 

Classes  of  parkways*   J.  C.  Olmsted 

Playgrounds  in  parks F.  L.  Olmsted 

Parks  as  memorial  gifts* H.  J.  Kellaway 

(N)  PLANTING  AND  PLANTING  DESIGN 
Hardy  perennials  in  spring  and  early- 
summer    B.   M.  Watson  Oct. 


Oct. 

1915 

6 

32-36 

Jan. 

1920 

10 

72-79 

July 

1920 

10 

187-200 

Jan. 

1921 

11 

63-65 

Apr. 

1911 

1 

128-135 

Jan. 

1912 

2 

62-75 

July 

1913 

3 

160-175 

July 

1914 

4 

133-144 

July 

1914 

4 

150-166 

lulv 

1915 

5 

185-187 

Oct. 

1915 

6 

37-48 

Apr. 

1917 

7 

122-127 

July 

1918 

8 

175-177 

♦For  illustrated  articles. 


164 


TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  SOCIETY 


Subject  Brief  Title  Author 

(N)   PLANTING  AND   PLANTING  DESIGN 
(Continued) 

Grouping  certain  flowering  plants B.  M.  Watson 

Some  good  trees  and  shrubs B.  M.  Watson 

Trees  of  formal  habit B.  M.  Watson 

Deciduous      shrulis     of     symmetrical 

growth    B.   M.  Watson 

Reference   list  of  perennials   R.  Wheelwright  and 

G.  C.  Chandler 

American  rock  gardens J.  W.   Manning 

Hardy  perennials  and  biennials  from 

seed   B.  M.  Watson 

Climbing  roses B.  M.  Watson 

The  use  of  the  axe F.  L.  Olmsted,  Sr.  and 

J.  B.  Harrison 

The  flowering  apples B.  M.  Watson 

Outdoor   planting   B.   M.  Watson 

The  flowering  plums,  cherries,  peach- 
es,  and  almonds   B.   M.  Watson 

List  of  hybrid  lilacs H.  H.  Blossom 

Lindens*    H.  J.  Koehler  and 

F.   L.  Olmsted 

Street   trees   in   the   built-up   districts 

of  large  cities E.  Peets 

The  viburnums B.  M.  Watson 

Some  wild  marsh  plants* C.  E.  Koch 

Experiments     in     naturalization     and 

hybridization     E.  Loines 

Planting  and  pruning  roses U.  S.  Department  of 

Agriculture 

Desirability     of     propagating     certain 

types  of  trees* S.  F.  Hamblin 

Natural  grouping  of  trees* R.  Wheelwright 

The  cornels B.  M.  Watson 

Naturalizing   flowers    E.   Loines 

Reference  table  of  native  ferns R.  Wheelwright 

Seasons  for  planting*   A.  D.  Taylor 

Check-list  of  plants  mentioned  in  the     C.  D.  Lay  and  R. 

Arnold  Arboretum  bulletins Wheelwright 

Trees  and  other  public  plantings J.  Nolen 

Planting  with  dynamite F.  N.  Supplee 

Iris     R-  S.  Sturtevant 

Reference  table  of  herbaceous  plants  --R.  Wheelwright 

Iris     E.  Loines 

Pruning  of  ornamental  shrubs* H.  J.   Koehler 

(O)  PROFESSIONAL    PRACTICE.     See   also  section  L 

Principles  of  professional  practice F.  L.  Olmsted 

Getting  the  business  C.  M.  Robinson 

Advice    H.  A,  Caparn 

Economizing  on  trained  brains H.  A.  Caparn 

State  registration  of  landscape  archi- 
tects     B.  W.  Pond 

What    is    "professional"    practice    in 

landscape   architecture?    F.  L.  Olmsted 


Reference 
Date 
Month  Year  Vol. 


Jan. 
Apr. 
July 

Oct. 

Oct. 
Oct. 

July 
Jan. 


Jan 

Apr 


July 


1911 
1911 
1911 

1911 

1911 
1911 

1912 
1913 


July  1913  3 
July  1913  3 
Oct.        1913       4 


1915 
1915 


Page 

95-96 
136-139 

181-184 

21-23 

24-31 
32-35 

178-184 
67-72 

145-152 
153-157 

21-28 

67-74 
136-142 


Oct. 

1915 

6 

15-31 

Apr. 

1916 

6 

140-144 

July 

1916 

6 

184-197 

July 

1916 

6 

198-202 

Oct. 

1916 

7 

1-11 

Jan. 

1917 

7 

78-82 

Jan. 

1917 

7 

83-87 

Apr. 

1917 

7 

128-132 

Apr. 

1917 

7 

138-143 

Apr. 

1919 

9 

128-130 

Apr. 

1919 

9 

141-149 

Oct. 

1919 

10 

1-53 

Apr. 

1920 

10 

129-136 

July 

1920 

10 

184-186 

Jan. 

1921 

11 

83-85 

Apr. 

1921 

11 

115-118 

Apr. 

1921 

11 

126-132 

July 

1921 

11 

167-175 

Jan.  1917  7  88-95 

Apr.  1917  7  144-153 

July  1917  7  193-194 

Apr.  1920  10  137-141 

July  1920  10  206-209 

Apr.  1921  11  133-146 


*For  illustrated  articles. 


OF  LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECTS 

Subject  Brief  Title  Author 

(P)  SCHOOL  GROUNDS 

Comparison  of  school  ground  plans  ---C.  H.  Ramsdell 

(Q)  SOIL  IMPROVEMENT 

Management  of  city  parks  with  par- 
ticular reference  to  soil   fertility E.  O.  Fippen 

Soil    improvement    and    irrigation    on 

Boston  Common F.  L.  Olmsted 

Soil    improvement    and    irrigation    on 

Boston  Common* R.  J.  Hayden 

(R)   SPORTS  AND  GAMES  AREAS 

Space   required   for   common   outdoor 

games*    H.  V.  Hubbard 

Ice  skating  rinks G.  H.  Browne 

Fly-and  bait-casting  pools* T.  T.  Crittenden 

Golf  courses* F.  N.  Evans 

Polo  grounds* R.  H.  Wilcox 

Municipal  golf A.  C.  Comey 

Swimming  pool  construction* H.   L.  Flint 

Examples      of      outdoor      swimming 

pools* W.  H.  Punchard 

(S)  STATUARY  IN  LANDSCAPE 

Statuary  in  informal  settings H.  A.  Caparn 

(T)  WAR-TIME  PROBLEMS 

Planning  the  cantonments* J.  S.  Pray 

Camp  Devens* H.  J.  Kellaway 

Preliminary  considerations  in  govern- 
ment industrial  war  housing* H.  V.  Hubbard 

American     soldier    cemeteries    in 

France*    P.  H.   Elwood,  Jr. 

Worthy  memorials  of  the  great  war---F.  Steele 


165 


Reference 
Date 
Month  Year  Vol.    Page 

Oct.        1921      12       46-51 


Apr.  1911  1  115-123 
July  1911  1  186-196 
July        1916       6     203-204 


July 

1912 

2 

163-166 

Jan. 

1916 

6 

72-75 

July 

1916 

6 

205-206 

July 

1917 

7 

172-180 

Jan. 

1920 

10 

65-71 

Oct. 

1920 

11 

19-22 

Oct. 

1921 

12 

5-21 

Oct. 

1921 

12 

21-28 

Oct. 

1910 

1 

22-30 

Oct.        1917        8  1-17 

Jan.        1918       8       69-75 


July 


1918        8      157-168 


July        1920      10      165-171 
Jan.        1920     10       57-64 


*For  illustrated  articles. 


